A Secretly Shared Secret
by ShimmeringLily
Summary: Hermione, Harry, and Ron are in their fifth year at Hogwarts. Hermione and Harry are busy falling desperately in love, managing the DA, fighting Umbridge, studying for O.W.L.s, and trying to figure out what has happened to the missing Sirius.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this starts right before the fifth book…basically I'm not going to stick with Rowlings plot, because I'm too lazy to look everything up. Oops! Did I really just say that? Haha, no, I respect J.K. and acknowledge that she has full rights, I just wanted to see where my mind would take the story she wrote. Anyway…I'll leave most things the same, and I'll try not to change character's personalities too much. Enjoy! And please PLEASE leave reviews.

Harry Potter had lived on Privet Drive with his aunt, uncle, and cousin his entire life. Ron Weasley had lived at the Burrow with 6 siblings and his parents for just as long. However, Hermione Granger hadn't ever lived in the same place for long. When her parents had her, they were just beginning to climb the social ladder of success in their dentistry company. This is why they moved not once or twice before Hermione turned 11, but six times. For this very reason, she had never had close friends, or really any friends at all, for that matter. But when she began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she found herself attached to two young boys who would change her life forever. She also found that she was the brightest witch to come along in many, _many_ years.

Thus, in her fifth year of attending Hogwarts, she was made a class prefect. The morning before they left to head off to school for the year, she found herself sitting alone her bedroom, reminiscing over her time at Hogwarts. Her first memory associated with Hogwarts was, by far, the most endearing, hilarious memory. She'd never forget the morning that she and her parents had been sitting at the breakfast table, and an owl had swooped in and dropped a letter on her plate of eggs. The owl had then proceeded to perch on top of the empty chair at the table. Her parents had sat, frozen for a few moments, before her mom let out a screech and went for the broomstick to chase the owl away (the irony of that would haunt Hermione forever). Hermione, however, lunged for the letter and tore it open.

_Hogwarts School_

_Of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore._

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards.)_

_Dear Ms. Granger,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Someone will arrive at your house this afternoon at promptly one'o'clock to help you find your books and school supplies needed for the year (see attached list), as you are a muggle-born student. _

_The term will begin on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Minverva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

She had sat staring agape at the letter, until her father tore it from her hands.

"I'm sure it's just some stupid prank, Hermione. Perhaps your mother and I should stay here with you this afternoon, though. We don't want to take any chances with some crazy coming here to spook you, now do we?"

At this point, father and daughter turned to survey the woman brandishing a broomstick, swatting at the owl that had landed on the chandelier.

"I don't think the crazies would spook me, daddy, but maybe you and mom should take the day off."

"Jean!" her father moved to her mother's side, and took the broom away gently, "Leave the poor animal alone. If we open the windows, I'm sure it will leave on it's own."

Luckily it wasn't raining in London (where they had finally ended up) for once, so they were able to leave the windows open for the day. However, by one'o'clock the owl still hadn't left. And at one'o'clock a woman named Minerva McGonagall, dressed in emerald green robes had arrived and explained everything to the Granger family. She had then gotten the owl to leave and escorted Hermione and her parents to Diagon Alley to get her books.

Her second memory of Hogwarts involved the famous Harry Potter. She had read about him in almost every book she had purchased, and had found herself fascinated by his story. When she had accidentally bumped into him while looking for a boy named Neville's frog, she naturally made a fool of herself. All the same, she found herself entranced by the young boy.

And now, as they were about to enter their fifth year, she found herself best friends with _the_ Harry Potter. The Chosen One. The boy who lived. The boy who would never see her the way she wanted him to.

She met with the Weasleys and Harry (Harry was always with them) just outside of Platform 9 and ¾. They were immediately ushered through the brick wall and into the magical platform. From there the three spent a few moments with their hugs, and then climbed hastily aboard the train so that they could discuss how their summers had gone—and, more pressingly, so Harry could fill Hermione in on his court appearance.

"Well…er…the entire Wizengamot Court was there, to begin with." Harry muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He winced a little when Hermione exploded with rage, as he expected her to.

"What? Oh Harry, that's horrid! How dare they! I can't believe they would have the full court there. You were just protecting yourself and Dudley! I mean, really, a dementor attacked you in the middle of an alley. What were you supposed to do, let it have at you? What were they bloody thinking?" Hermione crossed her arms as she plopped down next to Harry.

"Did you really say bloody?" Ron's jaw dropped at her use of the word.

"Just because _we_ are both prefects, Ronald, doesn't mean I can't say bloody now and again, if I want to. Which reminds me, when the train starts moving, we need to head up to the prefect compartment so we can get our orders from the Head Boy and Girl."

"Oi, Hermione, I know. You don't have to nag, I got the letter too."

Hermione heaved a sigh and then turned to Harry, "Then what happened?"

"Well…Dumbledore came in and basically blew them all away with evidence and whatnot, just like I expect you would have," he shot her a grin, "But he wouldn't even look at me the entire time…and afterward he just got up and left."

"Manky git…"

"Ronald Weasley!! He is our headmaster, and if he ignored Harry I'm sure he had a perfectly good reason. After all, he can't very well play favorites in front of the entire Wizengamot court. You watch that mouth of yours or I'll have _you_ in detention!" She sent Ron a nasty glare, which silenced him, and then turned to Harry once more, "Well, I'm glad that's all over." She hugged him tightly, "I'm glad you're safe, Harry."

"What's the worst they could have done? Banished me to Azkaban? If they did that, Voldemort would just have at them. Maybe we'd all be better off."

"Oh, don't talk like that, Harry."

Suddenly his eyes filled with rage.

"They won't do anything to stop him, Hermione. They're wasting all their time going after…Snuffles."

The next thing Hermione knew, she was hugging The Boy Who Lived again, feeling bad for his incredible streak of bad luck. Everyone who seemingly got close to him died, or wasn't allowed to be near him. It certainly wasn't fair.

Just then, the door to their compartment slid open, and in stepped Neville, Luna, and Ginny Weasley. Hermione first noticed the change in Ginny and Neville—Ginny had certainly filled out, and Neville seemed slimmer and more certain of himself.

"Harry!" Ginny let a full smile reach her lips as she sat down on his other side, "I was hoping we would find the three of you."

Harry offered her a little smile, and then slumped down in his seat, seemingly deep in thought. Hermione knew he didn't feel like talking.

Neville and Luna both nodded quietly, and took seats on either side of Ron. It was then that Hermione noticed that Ron's eyes were glued to Luna—apparently her carrot shaped earrings had drawn his attention…or perhaps the girl's short plaid skirt and revealing white blouse were enticing him.

"Alright, Ronald, it's time for us to head up to the prefect compartment."

"What? But the train hasn't even begun moving."

"Yes, well, by the time you shrug your robes back on it will be halfway to Hogwarts, and you'll be the first late prefect in a hundred years."

The entire compartment chuckled quietly has Hermione summoned both of their robes and their prefect buttons. She then handed Ron his things, pulled hers quickly on, and hurried into the hallway. Hopefully Ginny wouldn't be able to get through to Harry while she was gone.

Ron bustled into the hall behind Hermione, fighting with his robe, "These bloody robes…no wonder I don't wear them during the summer."

"Really, Ron. You make everything too difficult." Hermione sighed in a motherly way, and moved to help Ron with his robes.

"Thanks." Ron grumbled, once they had straightened his robes out, "I don't know how I got them so twisted up.

Just then the train jerked to a start, and the last straggling students rushed into their compartments.

"Come on, we'd better hurry up to the front of the train. I wonder who the rest of the prefects will be…I swear, if Malfoy is the Slytherin prefect…"

"But if he isn't, our possibilities will be endless. I'll give him detention every day for the entire year. And I'll ban him from the Quidditch team!"

"Ronald, you can't keep him from playing Quidditch, and I _will not_ let you give him detention simply because you don't like him. Being a prefect is a lot of responsibility, and I'm going to make sure you handle it appropriately."

"Aw, Hermione, being a prefect means I'm supposed to boss other people around, not be bossed around."

"If you can't handle the responsibility, you're going to get bossed around. That's the way it is. Honestly, I'm surprised Dumbledore didn't ask Ha--", Hermione stopped mid-sentence and turned to Ron, "I'm sorry, Ron."

"Nah, it's okay." Ron shuffled past her in the hall, "I don't know why he didn't ask Harry either. We all know Harry's smarter than I am, and better at everything."

"That's not true!"

"Yes, it is, Hermione. He's the Chosen One, after all…but at least I'm his best friend, right?"

"Yeah…" Hermione sighed quietly, "The three of us will always be best friends, Ron."

"Thanks, Hermione." He turned to her and embraced her quickly.

Hermione ended the hug quickly, and then walked to prefect compartment door. She held it open as Ron stepped inside. It was strange that Ron had hugged her; he generally didn't give her hugs, unless it was the beginning or end of the summer. Strange. But, perhaps he was finally growing up. Maybe this prefect thing would encourage him to be more like Percy. That was something that certainly couldn't hurt.

"Are you going to come in, or just stand in the hallway like a statue, Granger? Maybe they really never did fix that petrification problem." A slimy voice floated out to her, and Hermione snapped back to reality. She stepped into the apartment and rounded on Malfoy.

"If you knew anything, Malfoy, you'd know that petrification is not a word." She snapped at him, and then took a seat next to Ron, across from Malfoy, turning her attention immediately to the Head Boy and Girl. Apparently they were still waiting on the Hufflepuff Prefects.

Next to Malfoy was Pansy Parkinson, Hermione noticed out of the corner of her eye. Pansy was the second person in Hogwarts who Hermione hated. The first, obviously, was Malfoy. Now, with both of them as prefects, she was sure this year would be a battle of the wits, so to speak; Pansy and Malfoy would be fighting to get as many Gryffindors into detention as possible, and Ron would be fighting to get Malfoy in detention just as often. However, Hermione would do her best to keep Ron under control, and if Malfoy and Pansy crossed too many lines, she'd appeal to Professor McGonagall, and perhaps even Headmaster Dumbledore. Next to Pansy was Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein—they were the Ravenclaw prefects. Hermione thought they were both fairly good choices, as they were mature, studious individuals. Hermione had always somewhat gotten along with Padma; they were somewhat alike.

Just then the door to their compartment slid open, and in came Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan. Two more good choices. So Dumbledore was 6 for 8 this year—not bad, overall. Surely the 6 students who were in line would be able to handle Malfoy and Pansy. The only person they may not be able to rely on was Ernie, as he tended to be wishy washy. Hermione leaned back in her seat and relaxed a little. Even though the Slytherin prefects (that was another ironic statement) weren't the top of the line, it would turn out to be a good year. She could feel it. For once Hermione didn't pay attention as the Head Boy and Girl gave the instructions—Hermione already knew them all; she'd done immense amounts of research once she'd found out she was going to be prefect. Instead, she thought about Harry. At the end of last year, she'd begun feeling…differently about him. That was really the only way to explain it. Harry seemed to think she had a "thing" for Ron, but the only reason she fought with Ron as much as she did was because she was jealous of their relationship. There, she'd admitted it. She was jealous that Harry and Ron were so close—she knew the three of them would always be inseparable, but Harry still didn't share his feelings with her. He had begun to during the Triwizard Tournament last year, but then he and Ron had made up, and everything had gone back to normal. She'd been shoved to the back burner, becoming once again the smart girl they only turned to when they needed her help. Well, not this year.

"Hermione?" Ron hissed at her, nudging her elbow, while everyone else in the compartment were staring at her in confusion. Hermione Granger daydreaming? Yeah right.

"Hmm?"

"We've asked everyone to introduce themselves, Ms. Granger." The Head Girl gave Hermione a reprimanding look. Oops.

"Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment, there. I'm Hermione Granger, but I suppose you all knew that by now." Ernie, Hannah, and Ron all choked back laughs, and Malfoy and Pansy gave her a contemptuous glare.

"Alright. Gryffindors, you need to do your patrolling in 2 hours. Slytherins, you can take the first shift, Hufflepuffs take the second, and Ravenclaws take the last. Then you'll repeat, switching every hour until we get to Hogwarts. Make sure you help with the first years when we get off the train, and then you'll need to meet with the other 6th and 7th year prefects at dinner, and get your patrolling schedules from the 7th year prefects." The Head Boy gave the final instructions, and then dismissed them all with a wave of his hand. Obviously he had little patience. Hermione and Ron were the first ones out the door, anxious to get back to Harry.

Halfway back to their original compartment, however, a slimy blonde-haired boy pushed between them and stood in front of them. He didn't say a word, simply waiting for Ron's rage to build up and give a reason for him to give Ron a detention.

"Malfoy, our compartment is that way," Hermione pointed ahead, "Why don't you let us through, hmm?"

"Why would I let a Mudblood pass me?"

Ron let out a low growl, and Hermione gripped his wand arm.

"Because the mudblood is smarter than you are, and is going to take 50 points away from Slytherin for using such foul language. Now move aside, please and thank you." Hermione pulled Ron to the left and they hurried past Malfoy. She could feel his eyes burning into her back.

"Foul git." Ron muttered under his breath.

"Just let it go, Ronald. There's nothing you can do about it."

Ronald grunted in acknowledgement, but it didn't seem to stop the string of foul words that escaped his lips.

"Ronald Weasley, if you don't watch your mouth, I'll take fifty points away from our house, too!" Hermione spat at him angrily.

"You can't take fifty points away from our own house! That's…that's practically suicide! The rest of the Gryffindors would never let you live it down."

"Well, I would rather face their wrath than let you get away with something I didn't let Malfoy get away with. You're better than him, or at least you could be."

"What?! Anyone is better than that git! Even _you_ don't like him, Hermione!"

"Just because I don't like him doesn't mean I'm going to let everyone else get away with things and only punish him. This is a serious job, and if you don't take it seriously, you'll lose as many points as Malfoy will."

Ron finally took her threat seriously as he stormed ahead of her and into their compartment. She coolly followed him, keeping her face calm. Harry, however, could immediately tell what had happened.

"Don't tell me you two are already going at it." He chuckled slightly, and Ginny and Luna exchanged glances.

"Hermione is threatening to take points away from Gryffindor."

"Oh really?" Harry gave Hermione a quizzical look, "Why would you do that?"

"Malfoy called me a mudblood again," Hermione sighed as she sat down next to Harry, "I took 50 points away from his house, and when we finally got past him, Ron let loose a string of words that I _will not_ repeat. Then I told him that if he kept it up I'd take points away from Gryffindor."

Harry gave her arm a soft squeeze, "He called you a mudblood again?"

Hermione closed her eyes for a brief second. Harry _would_ think about how she was feeling, not about her threat, "Yes, he did, but it's okay, Harry. I'm proud that I'm a Muggle born who is more intelligent and a better witch than almost every Pureblood in our class. Malfoy's just mad that I beat him on all of our exams last year."

Harry let out a chuckle, and then slipped his arm around her comfortingly. "Well, if you ever need someone to turn him into…oh, I don't know, a ferret? Let me know."

Hermione chuckled and playfully smacked Harry on the chest, "You'd better watch out or I'll take 50 points away from Gryffindor because of _you_, too."

Harry smiled at Hermione, and suddenly found himself lost in her eyes. It was strange how her chocolatey brown eyes could do that—they were so warm and friendly.

A giggle from the person on his other side distracted him, "Oh Hermione, you're so funny! We all know you'd never take points away from Gryffindor."

Hermione rolled her eyes. She and Ginny had always been friends, but sometimes she was so…well, such an airhead, to be honest. Ginny was smart, of course, but sometimes she lacked all common sense. Not just some of it—all of it.

"I don't know, Ginny. I wouldn't put anything past Hermione." Harry removed his arm from around her as he spoke, giving Hermione a sympathetic smile. It wouldn't do to get Ginny all worked up over nothing. Well, nothing to Harry.

Neville and Ron chuckled, to show they agreed with Harry. Ron, however, still had a sour look on his face, as if he had just been forced to drink a barrel of lemon juice. The ice had been broken, though, and the group slowly lapsed into energetic conversation. They talked about teachers, classes, and the workload they expected to have, as well as trips to Hogsmeade. Hermione and Ron took their rounds, and Harry accompanied them the first time, but the second time he was asleep, and when they came back, he had slumped over into Hermione's seat. She didn't have the heart to wake him, so she sat on the floor against the door until they got to Hogwarts. By that point, she and Ron were overwhelmed with their duties, and she didn't see Harry again until halfway through dinner in the Great Hall. Well after Professor Umbridge had been introduced and Hermione realized how horrible this year could truly end up being. When Harry came sulking through the doors well after everyone else had finished his or her first servings, she knew something had gone terribly wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Harry?" Hermione turned to him, with a worried expression on her face, as he sat down next to her at the dinner table.

"I don't really want to talk about it, Hermione."

"You're going to have to fill us in, Harry," she laid a hand on his arm and focused all her attention on him. Meanwhile, Ron was shoveling food in his face and seemed completely oblivious to Harry's attitude. Of course, Harry was always upset, and Ron was always oblivious. Not a good combination.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his messy black hair. His green eyes shifted anxiously around the room. Then he motioned Hermione closer. Ron was still stuffing his face full of food.

"Professor McGonagall pulled me aside when we got to the castle, and asked me to wait for her out in the hall. She said she'd come back after the sorting. When she came back, she took me down to her office so we could talk in private, and cast a silencing charm. I asked her what was going on, and she said that Sir—that Snuffles was in trouble. He'd been escorting Ron and I nearly everywhere last week, and I guess he tried to follow us to the station earlier today. Now he's missing, and it's my entire fault. The Death Eaters probably have him." Harry leaned his head in his hands and emitted a quiet groan.

"Oh, Harry…" Hermione sighed quietly, "First of all, you need to know that it's not your fault. You didn't make Sirius go anywhere; you didn't make him care for you like a son. It's just the way things are. Secondly, Sirius is a fighter. You know he'll be okay, Harry. It's just the way he is."

Hermione found her small hand clasped tightly in both of Harry's, with the tall boy facing her anxiously. He seemed to be finding solace in her words. Her words? Hermione Granger was comforting The Chosen One?

"Dumbledore will find him, you know he will. And if Dumbledore can't, you and Ron and I will go after him the first chance we get." Hermione continued to seethe support into Harry, as best she could.

"Really?"

"Yes, really, Harry."

Once again, Hermione found herself being clutched in Harry's arms. He pressed her tightly against his chest, and her arms found their way around his neck. Their hug seemingly deepened, and Hermione found herself lost in the muscles in his arms that she hadn't been aware of before. Suddenly the table around them grew incredibly quiet, and the two jerked apart. Hermione turned abruptly to her plate and began to eat, in silence. The rest of the table slowly began to resume their conversations. She chanced a look at Ron, and saw that he had a fork half-full of spaghetti stopped mid-way to his mouth. He was staring at the two of them; his eyes were darting frantically back and forth. Her eyes moved immediately back to her plate. How long had they been hugging? More importantly, how many people had noticed? Was Ginny mad? What if the Slytherins had seen? Even worse—what if the teachers had seen?!

She turned her head slowly toward Harry, and saw his cheeks were bright red. She cleared her throat and began eating again. How fast could she shovel the plate of spaghetti into her mouth? At the rate she was going, she would probably even best Ron.

As she finished her last bite, the Headmaster rose and began his yearly speech, "My dear students and staff members. I'm delighted to see that you have chosen to return this year, or perhaps even begin coming here for the first time. As you can see, we have a new member of our staff this year—"

A sharp "ahem" cut Dumbledore off. He seemingly ignored the voice, which was coming from a person whom Ron and Harry would later describe as a "pink-coated-toad", and continued with his speech, "Professor Dolores Umbridge will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year." Another ahem attempted to interrupt the Headmaster, but he carried on, not even giving the students a pause to clap for their new instructor, "Our caretaker, Filch reminds you all to check the list posted on his office door again this year, as there are several new additions to his list of banned objects in the school."

"Ahem!"

"Also, a final word of caution about entering the Forbidden Forest. Let it suffice for me to say that you should not do so."

"Ahe-he-he-he-hem!"

"In addition, for those of you who are not aware, the killer, Sirius Black, is still on the loose. If he is sighted within the castle, you are to alert the nearest professor, or, if you are an older student, a sufficient stunning spell may suffice." Dumbledore let out a chuckle, which muted the next "ahem", "Alright, students, the time has come to—"

"Headmaster Dumbledore, if I may?" The pink-toady-thing stood up from her chair and began "ahem"ing softly, "I'd like to address the student body," the strange woman waved snidely at the students, "Hello there, children!"

Hermione immediately knew this woman was not going to go over well with the students. Or the staff, for that matter. McGonagall's jaw had dropped, Dumbledore, who was normally calm and composed, looked peeved, and Hagrid had crushed the fork in his hand.

"You may not be aware, students, but I was assigned by the Ministry of Magic to teach you all about Defense Against the Dark Arts, as Headmaster Dumbledore was not able to find a…suitable teacher for you. Upon my arrival at Hogwarts, I have found that many things are not according to what the Ministry wishes, so I will be watching everything that is said and done here very closely. You could say that I will be the eyes and ears for the Minister himself!" The outlandish woman let out a girly giggle, and then continued in her very slow manner of speaking, "I am very much looking forward to spending time with all of you, and getting to know you better. And remember, 'progress for the sake of progress will be discouraged'."

With that, the odious woman sat down, and Hermione crossed her arms in a frustrated manner. She didn't even bother to sing during the school song, instead motioning Ron and Harry closer.

"Did you hear what she said?"

"Yeah, she's the eyes and ears of the Ministry or something." Ron shrugged and started longingly at a treacle tart.

"Sorry, Hermione, I was zoning. Didn't hear a word the old bat said." Harry gave her a sympathetic gaze as she let out an exasperated sigh.

"She said that progress for the sake of progress would be discouraged. The Ministry is going to begin interfering at Hogwarts!"

"What else could possibly go wrong this year?" Harry frowned and turned his attention back to the teacher's table, "She doesn't look all that dangerous, though. We should be alright, hmm?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and stood from their table with the rest of the school, as Dumbledore dismissed them.

"I think she's going to give us more trouble than we've bargained for, Harry." She squeezed his hand quickly, and then darted away and began rounding up first years. By the time she and Ronald had gotten all of the first years to their rooms, the only people left in the common room were the two of them and Harry. And apparently Ron was going to bed.

He tripped up the first step, yawning, and said " 'Night. Spose I hafta see you in the morning. Those first years were more difficult than I imagined them to be."

And with that, he was gone, and Harry and Hermione were left alone in the common room, sitting across from each other at the fireplace, staring in silence. Hermione was the first to break the silence, knowing just where she wanted this conversation to go.

"How are things with Ginny?"

"How are things with Krum?"

Hermione hadn't expected Harry to shoot back a retort the way he did.

"We haven't talked all summer, if you must know. Nothing ever did happen between us, Harry. We really just went to the ball as friends."

"Right." The moody, morose, angsty Harry that Hermione knew so well slumped further down in his seat. Hermione found herself moving quickly to his side.

"Ron overreacted. You can go through my things, if you like. I haven't heard from Krum."

His emerald eyes turned on her sullenly, "Promise?"

"Of course I promise, Harry."

"Well…nothing happened with Ginny and I either. I know she's always liked me, but it just doesn't feel right. She's more of a sister to me than anything."

"I know what you mean," Hermione found herself taking Harry's hand in her own, "Viktor was always more of the older brother I'd never had."

Harry's head lifted again, and they found that their faces were only a few inches apart.

"Hermione…" Harry trailed off, as if he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

"What is it, Harry?"

There was a short pause, and then…

"Hermione, if we do this…no one else can know…it would put you in too much danger."

Hermione's heart leapt in her chest. So he felt it too?? All she could do was nod.

"I think if we send a different owl from the owlery every day, we should be able to get in touch with Sirius."

Her mouth fell open as Harry rose and moved to the window, where he gazed out in silence for a moment. Then he spoke, "Not even Ron can know about our plans to find Sirius. He talks too much, you know."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Hermione composed herself in a fleeting moment, and then nodded and followed him to the window. "Of course, Harry," she sighed, "I promise I won't tell anyone. Not even Ron."

When he nodded and remained staring off into the distance, she mumbled something about how it was late and she should get to bed if she was going to eat breakfast with them in the morning. Harry merely nodded, as if he hadn't really heard what she had said, but knew she needed his assent. So, she left him staring out into the cool fall evening. She left him because she knew he needed to be alone, and she left him because she couldn't stand to be so close to him and yet so far away. Perhaps if she hadn't rushed up the stairs so quickly, she would have heard the teenage boy whisper, "Good night Hermione…sweet dreams, love". But she did rush up the stairs, and he whispered it after she'd left. So, Hermione was left to lie on her bed in a room with girls who she could hardly call friends, thinking of Harry Potter and how she would never get through to him, and Harry was left thinking about Hermione and how he wished he could talk to his mother about her. Maybe his mother could have helped him figure out how he felt.

Harry eventually left the window, and wandered into the boy's dormitory. He stripped down to his boxers, and crawled under the light sheets. The house elves stripped back the comforters this time of year, as it was still warm enough to sleep without them.

Before Harry had another chance to think about Hermione and his problem with admitting the truth to her, he drifted off to sleep.

"_Bow, Lilly Potter."_ _The words were spat from a dark shape in the doorway of a blue room._

"_I'll never bow to you, Voldemort." Lilly spat the name right back. The fire in her voice matched the anger in her eyes perfectly. She clutched a small bundle tightly to her chest with her left arm, and held her wand in her right hand._

"_Are you going to duel me as you nurse the child? Do you think I will be that easily defeated, Lilly?" The man's voice lowered to a somewhat peaceful tone. Lilly's stance tightened as he stepped out of the shadows and let his hood fall away from his face. She visibly flinched at the sight of his pale white skin and red eyes. She slowly lowered the wailing infant to the crib at her left. Then she dropped her wand on the floor._

"_Take me, not him, Voldemort."_

"_You are not the one I need. It is his blood that I am here for."_

"_Please, please…" she began to sob as she sank to the floor, "Take me!!!"_

_Voldemort scoffed haughtily and walked toward the crib. He raised his wand threateningly in the air as Lilly reached for her wand. She hurled an Expelliarmus Curse at him, but he blocked it immediately. He rounded on her before she could conjure anything else, and soon her wand had flown into his hand._

"_Take me!" he whimpered, mimicking the woman, "Take me, not him!"_

_This time the woman's tears fell much more quickly; this time there was no hope left in her sullen green eyes._

"_No…" she whispered, "Not Harry…not Ha--" _

_Her voice shattered into a thousand screams as Voldemort threw a silent Cruciatus Curse at her. After long, terrible minutes, he stopped and let her body sink to the floor, where she lay, unconscious. He watched her for a few silent seconds, then lifted his wand and whispered "AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

Harry sat up in bed before the word Avada had even left Voldemort's mouth. He gasped audibly, and then looked around the room. It was empty—the beds were all rumpled. For a moment he froze, fearing the worst, then he realized that light was streaming through the windows. The other boys were probably down at breakfast. Mumbling something about stupid dreams, Harry rose and pulled some clothes out of his chest. He quickly threw his robes over his clothes, stuffed his feet into some shoes, and raced out the door while still buttoning his robes. He was just entering the common room as he buttoned the last button, and he looked up to see if anyone was there. No one was by the fire; no one was sitting at the tables; no one was by the entrance. Perfect. Everyone was down at breakfast. As long as he didn't miss breakfast itself. A sudden movement caught his eye. He looked up and saw Hermione across the room, pulling on a shoe as she hopped across the common room toward the entrance.

"Oi, Mione!" he called to her, and watched as she saw him, gasped, jerked her finger out of her shoe, threw herself off balance, and tumbled onto the floor. Harry hurried over, bending down to help her up. She took his hand, and he pulled her off of the floor.

"Sorry to startle you." He shrugged his shoulders awkwardly.

"You didn't…well…you did startle me, but…I mean…" she sighed, as if trying to gain some semblance of composure, "It's perfectly alright, Harry. I'm late to breakfast; I overslept, for once." She let out a soft laugh, "Were you heading back to the dorm?"

"Huh? Oh…no…I overslept too." Harry smiled, and then suddenly looked down. Hermione looked down as well, and they both realized that he still had her hand in his.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Harry jerked his hand away and took a couple steps toward the entrance. Hermione frowned at his back as he walked away, but just as quickly as he'd begun to leave, he turned back.

"Are you going to come to breakfast with me, or what?" The twinkle in his eyes told her that he was teasing her.

"Why would I eat with the likes of you?"

He laughed at her snarky retort, and the two of them made their way out the entrance and toward the Grand Hall.

Hermione thought it was remarkable how awkward things could be one moment, and how casual they could be the next. She supposed that she was the one that made things so awkward, and Harry was the one that brushed it off as nothing and made things relaxed. She found herself laughing along as he began to sing, very poorly mind you, a song from a commercial of breakfast cereal. She had to correct him on the words, of course, but he ignored her and sang them the way he wanted to. This made her laugh even harder, and by the time they'd made it down to the Great Hall, Harry was nearly out of breath, and Hermione was nearly in tears. Thankfully, they made it to their seats without Malfoy seeing them, and managed to grab toast and eggs before the breakfast foods vanished from the table.

Ron gave them an awkward stare as he noticed they'd come in together and were now chuckling away at something he didn't know about.

"Are you two…okay?" He finally asked as he took a bite of Harry's eggs and gulped down the last bit of his own orange juice.

"Really, Ronald, didn't you eat enough of your own food?" Hermione's sudden icy tones made Ron's look of confusion only deepen.

"Well, you're obviously alright. What about you, mate?" Ron ignored Hermione as she began to prattle on about how her being okay and her attitude toward his slovenly behavior were not synonymous.

Harry gave Ron a smile, letting him know that he was fine, and then listened to Hermione's speech. He was beginning to realize that her speeches weren't as serious and nagging as they'd always thought. They were funny, if you really listened, and she had some fairly snarky comments for Ron. Just because Ron didn't like being nagged because he felt like he'd never be as good as his older brothers didn't mean Hermione was annoying.

"Mione, I think he gets the point." Harry gave her a little smile as Ron's ears began to turn red. He lifted his head and found there were only a few people left at each table. Sighing, he motioned them closer. "Look, you two, I had a dream last night…about my mom. I don't know why I'd be having it now, though. I was watching her and Voldemort before he killed her."

"Before he killed her? You've never had a dream like that have you, Harry?" Hermione's tone changed from scolding to apprehensive and concerned.

"Yeah, mate. I mean, what would that mean? Would it mean that someone else was there? Was it…someone else's memory, do you think?" Ron's voice began to shake like it always did when he was afraid, and he paled a little.

" I really don't know. I wasn't seeing out of my eyes, or my mom's or Voldemort's. What if someone else saw my parents die? Who could it have been?" Harry found himself anxious. What if someone had been there? Could they help him understand what happened when Voldemort had tried to kill him?

"Normally dreams you have like this are reoccurring, right Harry?" Hermione barely waited for him to nod before she continued, "Why don't you wait for a week, and see if it continues. If it does, we'll talk to Dumbledore. If not, then we'll wait until this…" She leaned in even closer, "until this Umbridge business is cleared up."

Harry slowly nodded, although it didn't seem that he completely agreed with Hermione.

"Really, Harry, I don't think it's best to try and do anything just yet. It would just cause more problems—for all of us." Hermione sighed, hoping she would be able to get through to him.

"I suppose you're right, Mione."

"Of course she is. She's always right." Ron's voice suddenly tilted sarcastically, "Why would Hermione Granger ever be wrong? She knows the answer to everything; she understands every person's inner workings. Nothing is wrong with Hermione Granger, and nothing can ever—"

"Ron, shut up already!" Hermione and Harry cried together. They stopped and turned to each other, in surprise. The pair began to laugh, and Ron leaned sulkily into the table.

"Glad to see you two are best mates, then." He huffed as he stood and stalked away from the table.

"What's gotten into him?" Hermione cast a curious look at Harry; their laughter had died at Ron's serious tone.

"Who knows." Harry shook his head as his best friend left the Great Hall, then turned to Hermione, "So what are your plans for your first Saturday back to Hogwarts?"

"Well…I was thinking about getting some reading done. I'd like to finish the book for our Defense Against the Dark Arts class. What about you?" Hermione turned back to her half-full plate.

"I was going to take a fly around the Quidditch field, maybe get in a little practice. I heard Angelina's going to be our captain this year, and even though I think she'll be easier on us than Wood, I'd like to make sure I'm prepared." Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you need someone to come let the Snitch go for you?"

"Uh…" Harry paused, he had supposed he could let the Snitch out on his own, but it might be nice to have someone down at the pitch with him, "Yeah, I suppose I could use someone. Know anyone who would like to sit in the stands for the day?"

"Oh I'm sure some frizzy-haired girl with a notion to read all day wouldn't mind sitting in the stands." Hermione flashed a smile as she finished off her eggs. Noticing that Harry's plate was empty, she casually stood up, "I'll go get my book and meet you down there."

"I have to get my Firebolt anyway, so we might as well go to Gryffindor Tower together and come back to the Quidditch Pitch." Harry also stood up, and found himself striding out of the Great Hall with Hermione only a few seconds later. He knew he should be spending any extra time thinking about how to find Sirius, but he also knew that Quidditch would relax him. Besides, spending the day with Hermione might help him figure out how he felt; maybe it would even give him a hint as to how


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This chapter isn't very lovey-dovey at all, sorry! There's a lot of technical information in here, which will help build up to the climax of the story. Keep in mind that in this story, they arrived at Hogwarts on a Friday night and now have Saturday and Sunday to get used to the school and "prepare" for classes. Another words, everyone aside from Hermione will be goofing around. Enjoy!

"Really, Harry, you'll have to start preparing for your OWLs, you know. I mean, Quidditch is important to you, and you do _need_ to practice, even though you're already brilliant, but just make sure you keep some study time in your schedule." Hermione peered at the dark haired boy, hoping he didn't think she was being a nag. Instead, she found a smile bearing down on her. Strange, how that smile could melt her heart. And it seemed as if he had no idea. After all, he had snatched his hand away from her this morning, and all he could think about were Sirius and Voldemort. Although…she couldn't blame him for thinking about the man who was trying to kill him. He did have a right to be concerned for his own livelihood.

"I'll tell you what, Hermione if you help me practice for Quidditch at least once a week, then I'll study with you at least once a week." Well, that settled it. Hermione was about to take on a motherly tone again. Her brown eyes suddenly lit up with excitement at his promise to study with her, and he realized his heart felt like bursting just because of the gleam in her eyes. She couldn't possibly know what she did to him.

Harry shook his head and cleared it. While he was flying, he wouldn't be able to be thinking about Hermione. He had to focus on catching that snitch, and doing it quickly.

"That sounds brilliant, Harry." Hermione smiled to herself, already drawing up study plans in her mind, "We should probably start with Potions. I mean, we all know that it's definitely not your best subject. But that's really only because you let Snape get to you. If you didn't let him irk you so, I'm sure you'd do wonderfully. Why don't we start tonight? Then we can make a regular Saturday of it…Quidditch in the afternoon, studying at night?"

"Sounds fantastic, Hermione." Harry sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. They were so close to the Quidditch Pitch, now, "Oi, I'll meet you at the Pitch, alright?"

"Alright." Hermione trailed off as Harry leapt onto his broom and took off. She laughed at the joy on her friend's face, and then looked down at the book in her arms. This new Defense Against the Dark Arts book had been a dry read so far, but she certainly had gleaned a lot of information. She wondered when they would have their first quiz, so that she could go over the chapters a few times so she'd be prepared. Following the thoughts of a first quiz came the curiosity of when they would be able to practice the spells they'd learned. Maybe she could try a few out on Harry while he was flying…

She met Harry on the field, and told him that she was going to try out some spells, but she'd make sure she didn't let anything hurt him. She would purely see if she could use the spells correctly. Harry, apparently feeling confident in Hermione's skills with a wand, seemed to have no problem with being her guinea pig. With that, Hermione opened the Quidditch box and let loose the Snitch. She pointed her wand at her mouth, whispered "Spirareus", and then let out a very loud whistle, the ability magnified by the spell. Harry shot off into the sky, and Hermione took her place up in the stands.

She opened the textbook up to the first page and tried the first spell she saw, pointing her wand at Harry and crying "Avis!". A flock of small white doves shot out of her wand and flew in lazy circles around Harry. They weren't attacking him, simply fluttering about happily. She looked at the paragraph below the spell.

'Avis allows the user to shoot birds out of their wand. For every witch or wizard, the type of bird tends to vary. For witches, the birds tend to be more delicate, such as small finches or doves. For wizards, the birds tend to be stronger birds such as ravens, blue jays, and even the occasional hawk. When this spell is followed by the word "Oppugno" the birds will attack as the witch or wizard wishes. When "Includo" follows the spell, the witch or wizard will be surrounded by the conjured animals, and defended by them. This spell is the first in this section that describes different animal-releasing spells. These spells can all be used defensively when followed by "Oppugno", and tend to be excellent defense tools.'

She looked up again at her lovely white doves, and then turned her attention to the other animals that could be conjured. The second in the list were bees, for which the spell was Apes. Bats were Vespertilius, Ranus for frogs, musius for mice, Papiliosus for butterflies, and rattus for rats. Hermione realized that it was only possible to conjure small animals, but she thought that this spell would certainly come in handy in combat situations. To be able to send animals at Death Eaters in hordes would be excellent. Certainly, they could get rid of them with a simple "Depulso", but it would still be a splendid tool.

Hermione spent quite a bit of time going over the animal spells, and was soon sending animals toward the Forbidden Forest in groups of sixes, sevens, and eights. She looked up a few times and saw Harry chuckling at her. After a while, she continued to move on through other spells, but when she came across the charm that would shield another object for periods of 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the strength of the caster, she decided to try it on the groups of animals.

"Harry! Harry!!" Hermione yelled his name, and soon found herself jumping up and down to get his attention. Once he saw her, he flew over and asked what was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong, really, Harry. I was just wondering if you could try banishing the butterflies I send at you."

Harry gave her a look of absolute confusion, and then followed his look with an intelligent, "Erm…"

"When the butterflies come at you, just yell 'Depulso!', alright?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders and then shooed him away, "Go on! I want to see if this will work. If it does, we'll go to a spare classroom and I'll teach it to you tonight."

Harry shrugged and took off on his Firebolt without asking another question. Hermione caught herself watching his trim figure for a moment, and then forced herself to snap out of it. If they could find more ways to defend themselves, then perhaps she would have time for romance.

"Papiliosus!" A group of eight butterflies shot out of her wand, and she cried "Obsepirius! Oppugno!"

They took off toward Harry, as fast as their wings could carry them, and when they were within a few feet, he let out a "Depulso!"

Unfortunately for Harry, the butterflies did not disappear, they, instead, swarmed around his face. Hermione let out a shriek of glee, and then used the Depulso spell herself to banish them. Apparently the one who cast the shield spell could break through it whenever they wished. Hermione turned to Harry and yelled, "When I give you the signal, try expelliarmus on me!!!"

Harry once again shrugged his shoulders, and then Hermione cried "Papiliosus Includo!". This time, the butterflies swarmed around her, fluttering in a lazy circle around her head. She whispered, "Protego Maximus", and saw a slight glow above her head. She then gave Harry two thumbs up and twirled her wand in her hands.

His gentle voice shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and the spell shot toward Hermione, ricocheted off, and shot back toward Harry. It barely missed him, as he flung himself away from it, and collided uselessly with the ground. Hermione let out another cry of enthusiasm, and then banished the butterflies away.

By the time she had finished practicing setting the animals around other objects and tried everything in her power to break through the shields, Harry was flying wearily toward her, claiming they'd been at it for hours. She didn't believe him until she looked at the sky and saw the sun was climbing steadily toward the horizon.

"We missed lunch!" Hermione groaned silently to herself, "It's probably almost time for dinner. Let's head back up to the castle, shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan, Mione." Harry gave her a slip of a smile, and together they climbed down from the stands. And when Hermione tripped on the way down, Harry offered her his hand to keep her steady. He then kept a firm grip on her hand, just to keep her safe, of _course_, until they reached the castle doors.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry let go of Hermione's hands to swing open the rather large castle doors and found himself face to face with a tall, freckled, red-haired fifth-year.

"And where have you two been all day long?" Ron crossed his arms with an annoyed expression on his face. His eyes quickly lit on Harry's Firebolt, "Oi! You took HER to practice Quidditch with you, eh? Well that doesn't right make much sense, Harry. She bloody hates flying."

"Ronald Weasley, watch your mouth! If you must know, I went down with Harry to let the snitch out of the case for him. He didn't want to be alone, and neither did I, and considering that our sulky best friend ran out on us at breakfast, we decided to spend the day together." Hermione did her best to restrain herself, but Ron's whiny tones were so…irritating. The redder his ears turned, the more satisfied she became.

"Ron, I'm sorry mate, I didn't think you particularly wanted to be around either of us today. You did seem rather put out at breakfast, you know." Harry's face began to mirror Ron's, sad and pathetic. Hermione felt herself grow enraged. It was just like Harry to give in to people, even when situations weren't his doing.

However, to Hermione's surprise, Ron shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's alright. I just didn't know where you two had gone. I didn't want you going off on any wild adventures without me." He chuckled, and gave Harry a nudge with his elbow.

Together, the two vanished through the entrance hall and up the grand, sweeping staircase. Hermione rolled her eyes and took off after them, muttering a soft "Boys…" underneath her breath.

The trio quickly dropped Hermione's book and Harry's broom off in their dormitories, and then returned to the Great Hall for dinner. By the time they were descending the staircase, Ron was laughing as Hermione and Harry told him about the expelliarmus spell almost knocking Harry of his broom.

"Best not let the Slytherins know that, Harry, or else we'll be in deep trouble!" Ron snickered at his best friend, and then gave Hermione a serious look, "So you reckon you've come up with a new way to make a shield then?"

"Well, I'm sure it's been done before…I think I'll talk to Professor McGonagall about it, just to make sure it's all perfectly legal, but it really did work smoothly today. It would be a _wonderful_ tool to have on our side, don't you think? Once I talk to her, I'll teach it to the two of you."

"And just what do you want to talk to me about, Miss Granger?" A strong voice carried down the stairs to their ears, and all three spun around. For some reason, they were always surprised when Professor McGonagall snuck up on them, even though she was always doing so.

"Well, Professor, I believe I've found a new way to use a shielding spell. Perhaps we can meet before our first Transfiguration class and I can show you what I've done then?" Hermione spoke in her normal, confident tone, but both Harry and Ron new she admired and respected the older witch.

"You know, Miss Granger, I believe I have an opening in my schedule at this very moment. If you will come with me to my office, we will see what you've done there. And then, perhaps, we may discuss a few other things. Weasley, Potter, bring a plate of food to my office for Miss Granger in about half an hour. I daresay she will be simply famished, after spending all day down at the Quidditch Pitch with you, Mr. Potter."

Harry and Ron's mouths dropped open, as McGonagall turned around and walked back up the stairs. Hermione followed her in silence, feeling slightly intimidated by the older witch's presence. Thankfully, once they left the main staircase, there was no one else around, aside from an occasional lost and frightened first year. The pair maneuvered toward McGonagall's office, which faced the Quidditch Pitch. She unlocked her door with a series of spells and then ushered Hermione in.

"Alright, Miss Granger, what new tactic have you developed now?" Professor McGonagall led Hermione past the usual office door, and, instead, took her to a small sitting room.

"Well, Professor, I was looking through the beginning of our Defense Against the Dark Arts book, and I was practicing how to conjure small animals and send them to attack a foe. But then I found you could place a shield on an object apart from yourself. So I practice placing it on the animals, and then when I sent them to attack Harry, he could not banish them." The Professor nodded, and Hermione continued. "And then I found…well, let me show you." She pulled out her wand, made the appropriate motions, and said "Avis, Includo. Protego Maximus! Now, Professor try to disarm me.

McGonagall sent a simple Expelliarmus Hermione's way, which ricocheted off of the shield "bubble" and crashed into a mirror that had been hanging on the wall. The mirror shattered and fell to the floor.

"Oh my…" McGonagall let out a thoughtful sigh has Hermione banished the small animals. "Well, Miss Granger, it seems you have outdone yourself yet again. I trust you've shared this information with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasely?"

"They know what I've learned, but they haven't learned how to do it, yet. I thought I might teach them this evening. Do you know a room where we could practice, Professor?"

"That, Ms. Granger, is precisely why I've asked you here." McGonagall handed her a folded slip of paper and lowered her voice, "Follow those instructions, please. Tonight, at 8, your way should be clear. The Headmaster and I are…concerned about the amount of practice you three will manage this year. If you do as we instruct, this year may not be completely useless to you."

Hermione gave her professor a startled look. Why would this year be completely useless? Unless there was going to be some great change at Hogwarts—of course, Umbridge! The Professor gestured for Hermione to unfold the slip of paper. She did so, and read:

Please visit the seventh floor of the castle, across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barnby teaching the trolls ballet. You will pass by the opposite wall three times, thinking "We need a place to practice" each time. Then you will enter the door that will appear there. It would be done in your best interest to use that cloak of Mr. Potter's. Either the Headmaster or I will meet you there and give you further instruction.

"But, Professor, I don't understand…" Hermione arched an eyebrow.

"Well, my dear, it's simple. You need to be helping Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley with their…" McGonagall trailed off suddenly, straightened in her seat, and raised her voice, "with their bookwork. If they do not pass their OWL for my class, I will be most displeased. Now, I believe Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasely will be waiting for you." She abruptly stood and walked to the door. "I expect a full report next Saturday, and every Saturday for the rest of the year. I have much to do, young lady, so please don't dawdle."

Hermione rose from her seat and cast a curious gaze toward the Professor. She seemed nervous, and that was NOT like her. As Hermione walked past McGonagall, she heard her whisper "Be careful, my dear", but by the time she spun around the door was closing in her face. When she walked out into the hall, Hermione gasped when she saw Professor Umbridge leaning against the opposite wall.

"Excuse me, Professor." Hermione found herself dropping into a little curtsy and scurrying away down the hall. It was incredibly unlike her to curtsy to anyone, but that woman gave her the creeps—especially close up. However, she was not surprised to find that Harry and Ron had been nowhere nearby. Ron had probably taken his time eating his meal. He was always stuffing his face, but no matter. Right now she had to tell them about this strange exchange and then they would have to wait until eight to find out what this mysterious business was about. Hermione maintained a fast paced walk, slipping through corridors, until at last she hear a familiar voice coming toward her.

"This chicken is bloody amazing." The voice sounded as if it had a mouthful of food. Hermione spun around the corner, and came face to face with Harry and Ron. Harry was mid-eye roll, probably at what Ron had just said, and Ron was stuffing his mouth with a chicken leg he was carrying.

"You will never believe the talk I've just had with McGonagall. Let's go to the common room; for some reason I think someone might be listening to us." Hermione peered around cautiously, not sure what she was looking for, and then took off past the boys. Harry caught up to her on her left, and Ron stayed on her right.

"Here's your food, Mione." Harry handed her a plate heaping with her favorite foods. "You haven't eaten since breakfast, you should get something in you."

"Thanks, Harry." Hermione stuffed the paper McGonagall had given her into her robes, and then took the plate from him.

"Oi, this isn't a race, is it?" Suddenly she realized that Ron was breathing heavily.

"Sorry, I'm just flustered. Do either of you know what time it is?" They had reached the staircase by now, and began heading up. They had to reach the seventh floor to get to the common room _and_ to this secret place.

"It's just after seven." Harry shrugged his shoulders again. He seemed to be doing that a lot, lately.

"Maybe it is a race, then." Quickly realizing they wouldn't be able to make it into the common room, find a quiet corner, and then head off to the place the note indicated, she ushered them to the seventh floor, and into an abandoned classroom.

"Unless they've moved and refurnished our common room, I really don't think this is it." Ron sarcastically mumbled as he tore off another hunk of chiken.

"Ron, _really_. We don't have much time." Hermione sent him a concerned glare—she was _trying_ not to be so condescending—and then she launched into her tale of meeting with McGonagall.

"Well, she always has been a bit batty." Ron mumbled when Hermione finished, "Maybe it's just coming to."

"I don't know, Ron. McGonagall normally has things under control. Seems to me like something is going on. And what's all this about Dumbledore possibly meeting with us tonight? And Umbridge being outside her office? That can't all be coincidence." Harry's brow furrowed in concentration, "But how does it all fit together..." he let out a sigh, "We're supposed to go at 8? It's probably almost 8 now."

"She said to bring your cloak, though, Harry."

"Why don't we do a Disillusionment Charm instead? I'm sure it will do just fine. Besides, I'm the only one that needs it—you two are prefects."

"Brilliant, Harry." Hermione let out a sigh. If only he realized how very smart he was.

"Well, on with it then." Ron brushed his hands together, banished his chicken leg, and crosses his arms, obviously waiting.

"Alright." Hermione stepped toward Harry, cast the charm, and cracked her fist down on his head. And with that, he vanished.

The three scurried down the corridors. Hermione and Ron left just enough room between them for Harry to stay with them, while making it seem that they were walking together. By the time they found the tapestry, the hall was empty. Hermione walked past the wall three times, thinking "We need a place to practice" and the door appeared. She and Ron exchanged looks, and then walked through the door. The room was dark, and as soon as Hermione disillusioned Harry, she whispered "Hello?" into the darkness.

Harry spun toward her and pressed his fingers to her lips, glaring at her. She was surprised at his anger, but understood the need to be quiet. He barely breathed "Lumos Maximus!"

A ball of light extended from Harry's room and lit up the room. To their surprise, they found themselves in a room lined with books. The floor was littered with brightly colored cushions, and on the walls between the bookshelves were mirrors. On the shelves, with the books, were all sorts of dark detectors. However, it was the people on the cushions that truly surprised them.

Dumbledore was there, with his twinkling eyes, long beard, and tall pointy hat. McGonagall was there, with her emerald robes and perfectly pinned hair. But Neville, Ginny, and even Luna Lovegood were quite a surprise.

Dumbledore slowly rose and approached the three slowly. "This, as you may imagine, is the Room of Requirement."

Hermione's eyes widened in shock. _Hogwarts, A History_ had never said anything about this room. In fact, all of the books she had read about Hogwarts denied its existence.

"Why did you want to meet us here, Professor?" Harry cast Dumbledore a very confused look. Sometimes it amazed Hermione how comfortably he could speak with Dumbledore. It was as if they were very old friends.

"Well, Harry, as I'm sure Professor McGonagall and Ms. Granger have alerted you two to the effects that the Ministry will be taking on Hogwarts. In short, they intend to restrict you from learning about the Dark Arts and any other," He cleared his throat, "dangerous things you may learn at Hogwarts. It is most important that you search out those who are trustworthy, and who wish to continue furthering their education. We," he motioned to McGonagall, "have decided that you should use this room for your purpose. We will give you no further help aside from this, but this at least, we can do for you. If the ministry even began to expect that we were encouraging your education…" Dumbledore sighed heavily, and closed his eyes, "In any case, we will leave the six of you to decide what steps should be taken. I also suggest that you use this time, Ms. Granger, to teach the others that trick you've learned with shielding. It may indeed come in handy."

With that, Dumbledore left the room, with McGonagall close behind him. For a few long moments, the six students merely stared at each other. Then Harry took a tentative step forward.

"Well…does anyone have any ideas on…on what we can do to get other students to meet us here? We'll have to be careful in the people we approach. I think that every week we should probably pick out one or two more students to invite. We can't have fifty students coming here at a time…we might have to organize to meet in shifts if too many people start coming." Harry stumbled through his thoughts, mumbling through most of it, so Hermione stepped up to his side.

"Why don't we brainstorm this week, hmm? Next week we'll put together a list of people who we think should come to these meetings…and then the following week we'll figure out a way to get them here. For now, let's go over what I learned today. It's a shielding technique, involving small animals that we'll have to conjure."

As Hermione continued, Neville's face paled. Ginny stared at Harry the whole time, who didn't notice, because he was giving Hermione grateful nods and smiles, and trying to copy her wand motions. Ron was sulking because he knew that this would be like taking another class, and Luna seemed entirely entranced by one of the mirrors in the room. However, within thirty minutes, Hermione and Harry had them all organized and conjuring the small animals. Or, at least, they were attempting to conjure them. Two hours later, Harry and Ginny were the only ones who had managed to send the small animals attacking with shields and surrounding them with shields. Ron and Luna had managed to have the animals attack and surround them, but had not yet managed the shield. Neville had simply managed to send hordes of butterflies hovering around the room. Hermione promised him that the next week she'd discover some spells that required one to conjure plants. She figured that that, at least, would help him do better.

By the time they decided to call it a night, it was after eleven'o'clock. They decided Hermione would angrily escort Ginny and Luna to their common rooms, raging about finding them lost in the castle. Harry and Neville would be illusioned, as they were more likely to get in trouble if caught by professors. Ron would walk just in front of them so that he could guide them past any professors or other prefects.

They all managed to make it back to their individual common rooms safely, but when Ron, Harry, and Neville arrived in the common room, Hermione was sitting at a table flipping through several textbooks. Ron and Neville exchanged glances and ran up the stairs to the dormitory, apparently not wanting to be caught alone with the studying Hermione. Harry, instead, ran a hand through his hair and walked over to sit down next to Hermione.

She sighed and looked up at him with exhaustion in her eyes, "We're going to have so much work to do this year, Harry. With this new…situation, studying for the O.W.L.s, and our normal classwork, we'll be positively swamped. How will we manage?"

Harry comfortingly put an arm around her shoulders, "We'll handle it, Hermione. We'll study hard in the evenings, and even skip going to Hogsmeade if we need to. No matter the case, we'll get through it together."

"Really Harry?"

"Really." He flashed her a smile, "But for now you really ought to take a break." Harry closed the textbook in front of her, "As far as I'm concerned, it's still summer, and I won't let you spend your last Saturday night buried in textbooks."

Hermione gave him a somewhat relieved, somewhat tense look, and then stood and stretched, "Well, if you're going to take my books away, I'm not going to sit at this table."

She was surprised when she found herself taking his hand and leading him over to the couch in front of the fire, but she did it all the same. They sat down in the middle of the couch, and began to quietly talk.

"Did you go to see your family in Scotland again this summer?" Harry smiled at Hermione.

"Yeah, we did. It was really nice to see them all again, although sometimes the accents are a little difficult to understand." She chuckled with fond memories of the summer, "Did you get to do anything fun at all this summer, Harry?"

"Not really. The Dursleys aren't exactly interested in entertaining me. It's more like they want to keep me from waving my wand about the neighborhood. Not that I'd do that anyway." Harry chuckled with an image of Uncle Vernon chasing him around the neighborhood as he shot red and gold sparks into the sky with his wand.

"Maybe…maybe next summer you can come with us to Scotland. I'm sure mum and dad would love to have you. After all, they've heard so much about you. In fact…I mean…if you wanted…" Hermione shifted nervously, hardly believing what she was about to say, "I mean…we're going to Scotland for Christmas this year…if you don't have plans, I could ask—"

"That would be brilliant, Hermione." Harry smiled down at her, and found her wrapping her arms around his waist in a big hug. However, once he put his arm around her shoulders, she didn't move. Instead, she remained curled up against his chest. They continued to quietly talk, Harry hardly believing that she was snuggled up against him this way.

After a while, the fire went out, and Hermione began to shiver. Harry pulled a blanket off of the back of the couch and wrapped it around her. Occasionally one of them would suggest going to bed, but they never moved. So it was, that the next morning they awoke to intense whispers. Harry was stretched out on the couch on his back, and Hermione was tucked between him and the couch, one arm draped over his chest, and her head snuggled against his shoulder. Harry groaned as he opened his eyes and saw not one or two other students, but almost the entire Gryffindor house staring at them with wide eyes. He shot up from his place and darted across the room to stand and stare at them all.

"We…er…we fell asleep studying, last night. I swear, it wasn't…it really wasn't…" He stuttered, and then his eyes fell to Hermione who had suddenly sat up and turned a shade of white. Her eyes filled with tears, and she stood, ran from the couch, and darted up the stairs to her dormitory. A swarm of girls rushed behind her.

"Bollocks!" Harry let out a disgruntled moan and then hurried up the stairs to his own dormitory. This was bad. Very, VERY bad.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I've been swept away with my final exam for my summer class and getting ready for college (or for you Europeans, for uni). I'm really not too sure about this chapter, so let me know if you think it's complete rubbish. And remember, everything belongs to JK except for the changes in plot. :c)

Hermione sat down on her bed, with tears streaming down her face. Why would Harry have stood staring at her like that? He looked at her as if she was a freak, a monster, some sort of crazed THING. She had woken up in the middle of the night and found herself snuggled against him—she knew she shouldn't stay like that, but she couldn't help falling back to sleep, and then he jerked away from her! But to top it all off, the entire Gryffindor House had seen them.

Before Hermione could let another thought slip through her mind, the door to the dormitory she shared with the four other fifth year Gryffindor girls slammed open. Two of her roommates, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were standing in the doorway, as well as Ginny and Katie Bell. Hermione immediately stood and began wiping at her eyes.

"I'm fine, really. You'd all best get some breakfast." Hermione took on her normal cool tone, but Lavender and Parvati rolled their eyes, and Ginny rushed to her side.

"Oh Hermione, really! You aren't alright…" Ginny turned to Katie, saying, "Katie, would you go get as much food as you can and bring it back here? I think maybe we should have a girl's day in the dormitories…"

"No!" Hermione almost shouted at Ginny, stopping Katie in her tracks, as she was about to leave, "I don't want a girl's day. I want to go on about my business. Hiding away won't solve whatever it was that happened down there. I just…" she began to cry again, "I just need a…a few minutes to…to gather my thoughts."

Hermione fell back onto her bed, crying again, as the girls exchanged looks. Ginny waved at the other three harshly, and they quietly left the room. The young Weasley took a seat next to Hermione and took her hand quietly. Then, surprisingly enough, the normally fiery redhead sat there next to Hermione until she had managed to calm down enough to talk.

"Hermione…what's going on with you and Harry?" Ginny turned curious eyes on the bushy haired girl.

"I really don't know, Ginny. I think…I think I like him, and not just in a passing fancy sort of way. I think I really truly have feelings for him…but nothing can happen, there's too much going on. Aside from our school work, he has Quidditch, and he has to be prepared to deal with Voldemort at any moment, and he's trying to learn about his past and…and…" Hermione sighed and threw up her hands, "there's no time for romance! But…he needs me around. He needs my advice and my friendship. And the more I'm around him, the more I fall in love with him and I—"

Hermione gasped as she realized what she had said. Love? Her, in love with Harry Potter? As if. She shook her head slowly, "I didn't mean that…I don't _love_ him. I like him. I fancy him."

Ginny shook her head and began to giggle quietly, "Oh Hermione! Everyone knows you and Harry are closer than he and Ron ever have dreamed of being. It wasn't really a surprise to…to find you like that. The two of you just fit together. How did you end up there, anyway?"

"Well…" Hermione leaned her head into her hands, "we stayed up late talking last night, we have for the last two nights, really, and for some reason, last night, neither of us seemed to want to go to bed. I think we both had too much on our minds or something. I mean, after that meeting we were just wired, I guess. I suppose I fell asleep first, and then he probably nodded off, and next thing you know we're being whispered at and he's tearing himself away from me and…and…"

Hermione found herself with tears in her eyes again, "Oh what's gotten into me?! I've never cried over a boy in my life."

Ginny pulled the older girl close to her and let Hermione cry into her shoulder, "There's nothing wrong with you or with what happened last night, Hermione. But…what's next?"

Hermione suddenly straightened herself up and pushed herself away from Ginny. She rose, unsteadily, and walked over to the mirror, "Nothing is _next_, Ginevra. I'm going to go down to breakfast and act as if nothing happened. Although…" she turned hesitantly, "could you make sure I don't end up sitting next to Harry?"

Ginny laughed and nodded, and then watched as Hermione fixed her blotchy eyes with a quick spell and then pulled out a new outfit and robes.

"I'll wait in the common room for you while you change." Ginny gave Hermione a weary smile and then left quietly. As Ginny was entering the common room, she saw that Ron was rushing up the stairs, yelling something about being pulled away from two meals in the last 12 hours. She shook her head quietly, food really _was_ all her brother ever thought about.

"Oi, Harry, what happened, mate? Seamus and Dean just practically attacked me in the Great Hall and told me that if I didn't come up here, they'd hex me until they ran out of hexes. And knowing those two, I could have been hexed for hours and hours! What's the emergen—" Ron stopped mid-sentence as his eyes landed on his best friend, who was sprawled out on his bed. His eyes looked reminiscent and happy, but he was wearing a frown. His hands were folded carefully on his stomach, and his ankles were crossed. Harry looked…almost giddy.

"Harry?" Ron cleared his throat after a few minutes, and Harry suddenly jerked to life.

"Yeah?"

"What's happened? Dean and Seamus threatened me until I agreed to come up here." Ron shrugged his shoulders, and threw the piece of bacon he was holding away.

"Long story, mate."

"Well, can you summarize?"

"Hermione and I fell asleep on the couch in the common room last night."

"And what's so bad about that?"

"We woke up cuddling and the entire Gryffindor House was watching us."

"Oi, how did I not see you?!"

"Ron, when you have your mind on food, what do you honestly EVER see?"

"Good point, mate." Ron walked over to his own bed and sat down on it, "So…cuddling, eh?"

"I guess."

"Well…does it mean anything?"

"I think I fancy her, Ron."

"Oh." Ron mumbled quietly, and his face turned beet red. He didn't really like talking about relationships and emotions.

"Yeah." Harry grimaced at his friend's complexion. This was _not_ Ron's forte.

"Well…how about some breakfast?"

Harry laughed loudly, Ron _would_ assume food could just fix everything, and then agreed, "Yeah, alright." Maybe he could talk to Dean or Seamus about it. He had heard that Dean and Ginny were going at it…maybe Dean _would_ have some helpful advice.

The two friends rose, and Ron quickly changed the subject to Quidditch. This is why, by the time the two reached the common room, Harry had almost forgotten about the unfortunate incident. Almost. They continued through the Gryffindor common room, and Harry was aghast at the scathing looks most of the girls were giving him. This was not how he expected his second day at Hogwarts to go. Once he and Ron left the common room, their conversation lapsed into silence, as Ron could tell that Harry didn't feel like talking. Every girl they passed, whether Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor, seemed to be glaring at him. It certainly made no sense.

They finally reached the Great Hall, after climbing down all six flights of stairs, and as they entered, Harry found himself completely shocked. The first surprise was that Hermione's eyes were slightly red and puffy. She'd probably used some sort of spell to take down the coloring, because it didn't look too bad, but she looked absolutely miserable as she talked quietly with the girls around her. That was the second surprise. Every single Gryffindor girl in the school, along with a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, surrounded Hermione Granger. There were even some Slytherins looking sympathetically her way. This not only shocked Harry, but also Ron. They stopped in the middle of the Great Hall and just stared. Hermione wasn't one to cry in public, but it sure seemed as though she had been. Secondly, she was always ranting about the girls in their school and how juvenile they all behaved. She claimed she would much rather have Ron and Harry as friends than anyone else at Hogwarts. But now, here she was, blotchy-eyed and surrounded by females. Harry and Ron shook their head in confusion and then sat down at the nearest seats at the Gryffindor table. All of the people who were close to where they had sat scattered.

"Oi. You bloody messed up." Ron shook his head at Harry, but Harry wasn't listening. He was busy staring at Hermione. Surely he couldn't have upset her this much. Her eyes darted to him a few times during breakfast, but Harry never noticed. Once he started eating, his eyes never left his plate.

When Hermione stood to leave, the Great Hall seemed to erupt into chaos. All of the girls at their table rose and followed her out of the Hall, and many more girls from other tables left as well. It was as if no girl wanted to be left alone with a boy. Suddenly, Harry realized that the boys were whispering and pointing at him.

"Why are they pointing at me?" Harry tried to shrink down in his seat.

"That's nothing new, Harry. Haven't you been paying any attention? Everyone's been whispering about you because of the supposed dementor attack. No one knows whether to believe it or not. I was asked over and over yesterday whether or not you can produce a Patronus or not." Ron shrugged.

"What did you tell them?"

"That it's your bloody business."

Harry managed a smile, although it didn't quite reach his eyes, and said, "Thanks, Ron."

"Yeah. You gonna eat that bacon?"

"The table is still full of food, Ron."

"Oh…yeah. Sorry, I guess I'm still used to asking Ginny if she was finished with everything on her plate."

"So now you're comparing me to Ginny?"

Ron began to defend himself before he realized that Harry was teasing. The two erupted into laughter and finished their breakfast, ignoring the stares. After breakfast, they headed out to the Quidditch Pitch so that Ron could practice with Harry for a while. Once they had practiced for a few hours, they went down to Hagrid's cabin for a quick visit before they headed up to the castle for lunch. It was there that Harry found himself telling Hagrid the story of the events with Hermione.

"And I woke up, and she was curled up against me, and there were people everywhere, so I got up and moved across the room, and next thing I know she's crying and running out of the room and she won't talk to me or even look at me." Harry sighed heavily, "She and I haven't fought really, you know. It's normally her and Ron."

Ron grumbled something about always being to blame, but Hagrid silenced him with a chuckle.

"And she and Ron have always come around, Harry. If she doesn't get over this, then she's certainly not our Hermione anymore. Just give her some time, Harry."

"But I feel so useless! If she comes down and visits, do you think you can tell her I'm sorry?"

Hagrid shifted uncomfortably, "Well, Harry, she's already been."

"And?"

"And she didn't even mention any of this. I asked her why she wasn't with you two, and she told me that she had been studying and you probably two ran off to save the world again. I should have known then that something was wrong." Hagrid sighed and stretched back, "But you two were down at the Quidditch Pitch, eh? How's my favorite seeker going to do this year?"

"Bloody brilliant as usual." Ron's smile was genuine, but his eyes showed a tinge of jealousy.

"The way you kept hitting those bludgers towards me threw me off, though, Ron. I could barely keep my eyes on the snitch!" Harry chuckled and Ron launched into a recollection of the moment when one of Ron's bludgers had clipped Harry's shoulder and sent the boy and his broom spiraling through the air. This allowed Harry to lean back and try to think of a way to get through to Hermione. He wasn't willing to just give this situation _time_, he didn't want to lose his best friend.

And yes, she was his best friend. Ron was great, but Hermione always knew just what he needed to hear. Or what he didn't need to hear. Eventually Ron and Hagrid ran out of Quidditch talk, and the mood of the room became quiet. It often happened when Hermione wasn't there. The three males would each begin thinking about their own private situations, and after a while Harry and Ron would rise, give Hagrid knowing smiles, and they would leave.

So it was that Harry and Ron did leave, and they ventured up to the castle. They had waited until it was close to the end of the lunch period, because they assumed most of the girls would be gone by then. Instead, they found the Gryffindor table empty except for two lonely looking girls. A bushy haired brunette and a sleek redhead. Harry cringed, but the two girls offered smiles and waved the boys over.

Now they were really confused.

Harry and Ron sat down across from the girls, Ron took the seat across from Hermione to Harry's delight, and to Hermione's dismay the Boy Who Lived took his place across from the redheaded Weasley. Hermione forced a smile, remembering what she and Ginny had discussed.

_"If you don't want to mope, and you want to go on normally, then you have to snap out of your trance before he realizes how upset you really are. At lunch we'll wait for them to come back to the castle, go into the Great Hall and eat WITH them." At Hermione's grimace, Ginny cleared her throat and continued, " We. Will. Eat. With. Them. You will try your hardest to be Harry's friend again. If he wants more than your friendship, he'll make it known, eventually. Besides, if you talk to them, then maybe I'll be able to get Ron alone and ask him what he knows. If you don't make up with Harry, I'll never be able to talk to Ronald."_

_Hermione weakly smiled and then nodded her consent. Friends. She could act normal. She had to. Harry had too much to worry about._

Hermione cleared her throat as the boys began to eat and squeezed Ginny's hand under the table, "Harry?"

Harry's entire body shifted visibly as his head shot up and his eyes bulged out. She was eating with him, and now she was addressing him? What had happened since this morning?

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for my poor reaction, lately. I'm afraid I haven't been getting enough sleep lately, and I'm nervous about this school year, and I just cracked."

Harry opened his mouth to tell her that it was alright, and he felt just as horrible about it. He was going to tell her that it wasn't just the stress, he was embarrassed too, and he understood why she'd left so quickly. He even would have told her that he was sorry if he'd hurt her feelings.

But Ron opened his mouth first.

"PMS!" Ron coughed loudly.

Ginny turned her gaze coolly on Ron before Hermione could react. She took her fork of mashed potatoes and flung it at him. It hit Ronald square in the forehead. Ron gasped and threw potatoes back. Before Hermione and Harry could do anything, the siblings had rushed out of the Great Hall, carrying their plates and throwing food at each other in between screaming insults that Fred and George would have been proud of.

Hermione should have sat waiting for Harry to say something back to her, but she started giggling. Harry sat there, staring after the Weasleys, and then found that her laughter was contagious. The pair sat there, giggles and chuckles turning into laughter, laughter turning into a roar of noise. When they finally calmed down, they both knew whatever had started to come between them was forgotten. Quietly, they began discussing their plans for finding Sirius and for their new group that would meet on Saturday evenings, or whenever they could manage. By the time Ron and Ginny returned, they had a study schedule worked out, and had decided to wait until Christmas break to worry about Sirius.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were the last ones up in the common room again. No surprises there, though. Hermione kept Harry and Ron up late more often than not, making them work hard on their homework. However, tonight it was Friday night, and typically the common room was lively and full of people chatting and playing games. Hermione glanced over at the clock on the wall. 2 AM. She, Harry, and Ron were almost done with all of their homework for the weekend, after almost 6 hours. The week had been long, and painful. They'd had their normal full class schedules, which were amped up in preparation for their O.W.L.s, and on top of all of that, Harry had already received three nights of detention in a row, from the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Umbridge.

Hermione threw her quill sourly down on the table and crossed her arms. The woman was insufferable! She refused to even teach actual defense in a _Defense_ Against the Dark Arts class, and Harry's detentions were more like abuse. The quills she had him use—at this point, Hermione was visibly quivering with rage—didn't use ink, but instead used blood from his hand. It actually etched the words he was writing _into _the back of his hand. Umbridge was a witch with a capital B.

Ron leaned back from his seat and yawned noisily, "I'm done, I think. I might look over everything tomorrow…but I'm going to bed now. I can't read another word…I don't know how I've kept going this long." He stood, gathering his things, and then stumbled up the stairs. Hermione glanced over at Harry, who was leaning his head on his hand, staring blankly at his parchment.

"I don't know about you," Hermione began, as Harry turned his head to look at her, "but I could use a break…maybe we could go over lesson plans again for…well…you know."

Harry smiled, "Yeah, Hermione, that sounds great. Let's sit over by the fire, instead of at these tables. My back is aching."

"Okay." Hermione picked up a roll of parchment, did a quick spell on it that would only allow her to read it, and then took it over to the couches. Harry sat down next to her, and threw a blanket over their laps. Hermione smiled shyly at him, and then began to talk about what she thought they could do, "I was thinking that if we started with standard first year spells, we could see where everyone is at. I mean, we won't really know how much information everyone has actually collected, and we haven't had that many good teachers. So maybe the first class we'll start with Expelliarmus and then move on to Stupefy."

"Yeah, that seems like a good plan. You're right, we don't really know where everyone else will be. Once we've covered the basics, maybe we'll be able to split them up into groups, and once the entire group has accomplished a lesson, they can move on. It will definitely promote teamwork."

Hermione beamed up at Harry, "That's a wonderful idea."

The two continued to work on lesson plans for the next four weeks or so, and then began to discuss who they thought should even be coming to the lessons. An hour later, they had a list of people and all of their lessons planned out, tentatively.

"So…" Hermione began cautiously, "how have you been lately? We haven't really talked too much."

"I've been good, Mione." Hermione stared at Harry as he spoke, her gaze never wavering, "Fine, I've been…well, I've been exhausted and unsure. About everything, really."

Hermione nodded knowingly, "Sometimes life just gets overwhelming…and we're expected to just keep chugging along, even if we feel blind, you know?"

"Exactly." Harry gazed into the fire.

Hermione understood that Harry was facing a lot—Sirius was missing, Voldemort was out there somewhere, trying to kill him, and he had all the normal stress of school and Quidditch, not to mention these detentions with Umbridge, and now attempting to give lessons to other people in the school.

However, Harry wasn't thinking about any of that tonight, he was thinking about Hermione, and how he was exhausted from thinking about her and unsure about what their relationship even was anymore. After all, he was sitting in the common room with her at 3 AM, under a blanket by the fire.

He slipped his arm around her shoulders, lost in thought. She leaned against his chest lightly, surprised at his sudden action, and suddenly wondering what he was doing. Maybe he just needed to know that someone truly was right there. They both began to talk at the same time.

"I was wondering…"

"You know, I…"

They looked at each other and chuckled quietly.

"You go ahead," Harry sighed to himself. Asking about… "them" would just have to wait.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm always here for you, Harry. If you ever need to talk, or just someone to sit with…whatever, I'm here for you."

Harry stared down at Hermione in surprise. Maybe tonight, for this one moment, they were on the same wavelength. She had sat up, and was now facing Harry directly. He lifted up his hand and brushed his fingers against her cheek.

"Thanks, Hermione. That's just what I needed to hear." He smiled at her, and suppressed the urge to kiss her. Apparently Hermione wasn't able to resist the same urge, however. She completely shocked herself when she leaned in and was centimeters away from his face. Instead of kissing his lips, though, she kissed his cheek. She had to learn how to control herself.

"You're welcome, Harry." She blushed and then stood up, suddenly, "I…I think I should go to bed."

"Oh…" Harry looked down at the floor, "alright. I'm going to stay up a while longer, I think."

"Do you want me to…?"

"No…no, you go ahead and get your rest." Harry gave her a pained smile, and gazed into the fire again.

Hermione bit her lip and then walked over to the tables where they'd been studying. She began gathering her things, when a shadow moved up behind her. A hand brushed against her shoulder.

"Yes?" she turned around slowly, trying to act casual.

"Hermione…" Harry sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, "I don't want you to say anything back to me about this tonight, okay?"

"Um…Harry…" she paused thoughtfully, but when she saw the anxiety on his face, she nodded.

"I just…I can't go another school year without you knowing…" he ran a hand through his hair, "I mean…you know you're my best friend, right?"

Hermione nodded again.

"Well…I don't want to lose that. I mean, I'll always be here for you, as a friend. I just…I think…I think I've started to have more feelings for you than just…just friend feelings, Mione."

Hermione's mouth fell open. She was certainly not expecting those words to come out of Harry's mouth.

"Harry, I—"

"Hermione, please…_please_ don't respond to me tonight. Just think about it for a while, okay? I don't think I can handle much right now. You have know idea how hard it was for me to admit that to you."

"Yes I do, Harry James Potter." Hermione's hands had shifted to her hips, and she stared at him with a firm gaze, "Can I just tell you what I think now? Please?"

Harry groaned, and then nodded.

Hermione stepped closer to Harry, and smiled up at him, "I like you too, Harry. I have for a long time. I think it would be a bit much for everyone if we announced we were dating all of the sudden…but, right now at least, I think we could stand to give this a trial run."

"You…wait…what?" Harry's mouth fell open in complete shock.

"Do you not want…"Hermione trailed off, turning a shade of pink.

"No, no! That's not what I meant, Hermione…I just…you caught me off guard. I expected you to tell me that I shouldn't be thinking about girls, I should be thinking about my O.W.L.s or these lessons or Umbridge or something." Harry beamed down at her, and then whispered, "Will you be my trial run girlfriend?"

And that was the first time of many that Harry Potter would see Hermione's face glow.

Harry watched Hermione in her glowing state, in complete awe. Here, standing before him, was his girlfriend—his first, mind you. She was beautiful, smart, and wonderful. Before he knew it, he had pulled her into a very tight hug.

"Did you know you're my first girlfriend?" Harry smiled at her, taking her hand and leading her toward the couch.

"Well…I guess I kind of assumed, but I didn't know for sure, Harry." She giggles as he pulled her close to him, "You're my first boyfriend, too."

He pulled her back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"When did you start liking me?"

"Hmm…" he paused, "I'm not entirely sure. Maybe toward the end of third year.

What about you?"

"Well, I had a crush on you first year, but I imagine all the girls in our year did. I think I've liked you since we started at Hogwarts, but I didn't realize it until the Yule Ball. Seeing you dance with that Patil girl…it was like something snapped."

Harry kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry…I should have asked you to that stupid dance. I didn't realize that you…" he sighed, "I guess, even though I couldn't have done anything, I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"It's okay, Harry," she took his hand quietly, and they sat there, in blissful silence for another hour. When Hermione finally sat up and stretched, Harry had to work hard to keep from frowning.

"I suppose we should get some sleep. It's nearly 4 AM, Harry."

"Yeah." He smiled at her, and then they stood up together, holding hands.

"So…"she started, "We're not telling anyone? We're going to keep this quiet?"

"Yeah, that's probably best."

She surprised Harry when she rushed into his arms for a goodnight hug. Hermione just couldn't help herself—she felt safe there.

"Goodnight, Harry." She smiled again, collected her books, and then rushed to her dormitory, leaving Harry standing alone in the common room, lovestruck.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I meant to put this up on the last chapter, sorry that I didn't :c). It's been a LONG time since I've updated the story, about 6 months, actually. Last semester was my first semester of college, so I was kind of stressed out and not very focused. However, I'm going to make it a goal to TRY my hardest to update this once a week…and if I'm not updating, feel free to harass me with reviews. :c) Anyway, I was totally overwhelmed with all the reviews and favorites I've gotten! Thank you guys so much. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Also, for those of you who are anxious for Hermione to start using her animal spells, just hold your horses. It's coming. :c)

Hermione opened her eyes and found that she was smiling. She searched for a reason why, and quickly remembered the night before. Grinning, she leaped out of bed and quickly got around for the day. Then she rushed straight to the common room. Sitting coyly on a couch with Ron, was Harry Potter—her boyfriend.

'Saying that will never get old', she thought to herself.

A quick glance at the clock told her it was almost time for lunch. She walked up to Harry and Ron and smiled, saying, "Morning. Do you think we should head down to the Great Hall? They'll start serving lunch soon, and I'm famished."

Ron's eyes narrowed, and he looked like he was about to say something about how happy Hermione was, but Harry cut him off.

"Yeah, food sounds great. I'm going to need some sustenance before my detention with Umbridge."

Ron groaned loudly and buried his face in his hands again, "I'm not trying out."

"Yes you are, and you'll do brilliantly. If I can get out of detention early, I will. Besides, Hermione will be sitting right there in the stands, watching you. Won't you, Mione?" Harry patted Ron on the back.

"Of course I will, Ron!"

"But you need food right now, Ron. You can't play keeper well with an empty stomach."

"Yeah, yeah." Ron grumbled and then stood. Harry and Hermione each took one of his arms and guided him toward the door to the common room.

"Come on, Ron, don't let yourself get worked up." Harry frowned at his friend, and Ron jerked his arm away.

"I'm not worked up, I'm just…oh bloody…" Ron stormed through the door, and then rounded on Harry and Hermione in the hallway. You two bloody slept all day long! I got up this morning round ten. You know who was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs?"

"Who?" Harry and Hermione chorused.

"Lavender Brown, that's who!" Ron crossed his arms huffily, "She keeps following me around, asking me questions and badgering me about tryouts. I'm more nervous cuz of her than anything else. Bloody hell, Harry, I think she has a thing for me."

"You don't say?" Hermione laughed, "Ron, she's liked you for quite some time. She always asks me about it. Just don't let on that you like her."

Ron grimaced and ran a hand through his hair, "Right…well…" he sighed heavily, "Mebbe we should just go get some food then?"

Harry and Hermione both chuckled at their friend.

"Alright Ron, we'll get some food. If you insist." Harry smirked at Ron, and then three continued on to the Great Hall.

"So how late were you two up last night?" Ron asked as they walked.

"Three." Hermione answered firmly.

"Four." Harry said at the same time.

The two then quickly changed answers.

Hermione said, "Four".

"Three," mumbled Harry.

"Ahh…it was 3:30, I guess." Hermione smiled nervously at Harry, and then looked at Ron, "We got through most of our work, and then we worked on planning the lessons for the…well…"

Ron nodded, "I'm glad you guys got all of that done without me. I'm no help with it."

Hermione grinned, "We know."

"So, Harry," Ron directed all of his attention to his male friend, "what do you think is my best bet for getting the keeper position? What will Angelina be looking for?"

"Well, she wants someone that has a lot of Wood's ability, I think…she's really wanting someone who…" as Harry tried to give Ron advice, Hermione found herself caught up in watching him.

His dark hair was hanging just a bit into his eyes—not enough to give him and emo look, but enough to make his hair look somewhat shaggy. His eyes were green, and absolutely startling. For a moment, Hermione wondered what he would look like without his glasses. He had learned to cover up the scar on his forehead with his hair, but every now and then she could see it peeking through. His cheeks were the least bit pink, just enough to show that he had life in him. His skin was so very pale…he was tall, growing more every day it seemed, and he was incredibly skinny. But Hermione could tell from the hugs the night before that he had unseen muscles. Of course, from playing Quidditch his arms would be quite sturdy, and his legs must be strong because of all the running away from Dudley as a child. Overall he was just…handsome. Startlingly handsome, actually. Hermione blushed when Harry looked over at her and watched where she was going.

Of course, she didn't have to look away anymore, he _was_ her boyfriend, but she felt shy suddenly. Besides, no one knew they were a couple, and she couldn't be caught gazing dreamily into her eyes. Hermione had to cough back a laugh at that thought. Gazing dreamily into Harry Potter's eyes. Ha! For some reason she didn't think their relationship would come to that. But…it wouldn't be the first time she'd been wrong. After all, she was now _dating_ Harry Potter. A sudden thought came to her mind.

If he'd _liked_ her for so long, why had he just stared at her the morning they woke up on the couch? That didn't make any sense…she would have to ask him later.

"Oi, Hermione, you can sit down, you know?" Ron was staring at Hermione like she was an alien. Of course, they _had_ reached the Great Hall, and Harry and Ron were sitting at the table. And Hermione was just standing behind them, staring off into space.

"Erm, sorry." Hermione sat down on Harry's left, "I got lost in my own train of thought while you two were talking Quidditch."

Ron shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care, and then began to eat the food that was at the table. Sandwiches covered plates—ham and cheese, turkey, peanut butter and jelly, you name it, it was there. There seemed to be some sort of ratatouille, an elegant walnut salad, and of course chocolate pudding for dessert. Hermione took a little ratatouille, a lot of salad, and a little pudding. She had begun to eat when, to her surprise, a hand pressed against her leg. Hermione spun to look at Harry, who leaned toward her slowly.

Harry then whispered, "Hold my hand?"

It was all Hermione could do to keep herself from hugging Harry on the spot. She continued eating for a while, but eventually snuck her hand under the table, and found that Harry grabbed it almost immediately. It was somewhat of a challenge to eat with only one hand, but somehow she managed it.

Harry, meanwhile, found that his heart was racing. Hermione's hand was soft and cool. It felt so small in his hand. By the time they were both done eating, and she had pushed back her plate, he was already missing the feel of her hand. Harry had woken up in an incredible mood. He'd forced his smile to disappear once he was heading down to the common room, otherwise people—Ron—would get suspicious. But inside, he was ridiculously happy. Not even detention would get him down today. His girlfriend, his beautiful wonderful girlfriend, was at his side. And then there was Ron.

"I can't do this. I can't do it. I'm not GOING to do it." Ron was mumbling as he stood up from the table, "I'm going back to Gryffindor Tower. See you guys later."

"Ron, just wait a second." Hermione stood up quickly and linked her arm through his, "How about you and I…take a walk together, hmm?" She exchanged looks with Harry, "I think you could use some fresh air."

"Yeah, Ron. You go take a walk, and I'll meet up with you in a couple of hours, okay?" Harry grinned at Hermione and patted Ron on the back.

Ron turned and looked at Harry, startled, and then he whispered loudly, "I don't want to go with her, she doesn't know anything about Quidditch!!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled on Ron's arm, "Ronald, we aren't talking about Quidditch. We. Are. Taking. A. Walk."

Ron groaned and then allowed himself to be led pitifully away.

Harry sighed, squared his shoulders, and then headed for Umbridge's office, which felt miles away from the Great Hall. She decided the office adjacent to the Dark Art's classroom wasn't good enough for her, and so she had chosen an office situated high up on the sixth floor—it just barely overlooked the Quidditch pitch—maybe Harry would be able to watch Ron tryout, if Hermione convinced him to try out.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Get ready…get set….GO!

P.s. I don't own HP. :c)

Hermione was trying to watch Ron…she really was. It was just…she could see the castle, from where she was, and she had somehow managed to figure out just where Umbridge's window was. Granted, she didn't have her omnioculars, but she knew Harry was in that window. She knew he was. She knew he was there, just as well as she knew that his hand was bleeding, because of that…that…that old toad. Hermione visibly shuddered, and forced her eyes back on Ron. Lavender Brown was sitting a few rows ahead of her, giggling and whispering "oh Won-Won!".

Suddenly all of the players landed on the field, and Angelina pulled Fred and George aside. They spoke for a few minutes, and then Angelina pointed her wand at her throat, undoubtedly saying, "sonorous".

"The new addition to our Gryffindor Quidditch Team will be….Ron Weasley." Lavender and Hermione both jumped to their feet.

Hermione merely clapped, while Lavender shouted "GO RON!!!"

Ron, meanwhile, was turning bright red, his cheeks clashing horribly with his hair. But, nevertheless, there was a huge grin on his face, and he looked happy as he shuffled back and forth. Hermione gave him a small smile and wave, and then headed down from the bleachers. She assumed Ronald would be busy, and she was thinking maybe she could surprise Harry after his detention. Or maybe it would be better to go to the library and try and find out what the best way to heal his hand would be. After all, he refused to go and see Madam Pomfrey, so it would be up to Hermione to try and help him. He didn't need another scar. So, Hermione headed straight to the library, and began shuffling through the medicinal spells and potions books.

* * *

Harry was stuck at Umbridge's side. He'd been writing the lines for several hours now—he'd started around one and now it was getting close to four. He gritted his teeth and wrote again "_I must not tell lies_". It seemed that Umbridge wasn't going to let him go until he made some sort of acknowledgement that he was in pain. Not that _that_ was ever going to happen.

Sure, Harry was in pain. His hand had stopped feeling like it had a thousand tiny paper cuts, and was now beginning to feel more like someone was bashing it in with an icebreaker. Still, he continued to write. He wasn't about to let her win. To Harry, Umbridge was everything that the Ministry was in his life. The Ministry had caused him pain—allowing his parents to die, chasing Sirius—and they had been completely ignorant to serious problems—Voldemort being, well, alive. Umbridge was causing him pain now, but he wasn't about to let her win. He was stronger; he had to be stronger. If he won this battle, he could win the battle with the Ministry, and possibly guide them to see that Voldemort was alive. He just had to wait it out a little longer. More minutes raced by, and Harry's hand had gone completely numb. Around five, the toad turned to him, stiffly.

"Potter, I'm having a student bring you and I a quick meal. You will have 30 minutes to eat, and then I expect you back to your detention. After you've finished for the day, I think that I'll end your detention streak…as long as you don't disrupt my class any more." Her squeaky voice made his ears ring.

"Thank you….Professor." He spat the word sourly. Did she think she was going to be able to grind him into submission? Fat chance. Harry kept writing. Surely the student would bring the meals soon enough…hopefully.

* * *

Hermione stiffly closed the book in front of her. She'd been digging through books for several hours, and she thought she'd found something she believed would help. However, she'd have to find it directly after supper. Perhaps if she appealed to McGonagall…no. That wouldn't do—Harry didn't want anyone on the staff to know what Umbridge was doing—this was his own personal battle. Hermione sighed and began to gather her parchment. Once she had everything together, she headed toward the Great Hall. If she couldn't find Harry there, she could at least eat dinner with Ron. Hermione was on the 2nd floor when the inevitable happened. Malfoy appeared, carrying two plates of food.

"Malfoy, what are you doing? Food is not to be taken out of the Great Hall without express permission from a—"

"From a professor, Granger?" His eyes glinted spookily, "I have permission from Umbridge. I'm taking these meals to her and Potter. Didn't you know your boyfriend was still in detention?"

"He's not my boyfriend, Malfoy." Hermione glared at him and began to push past him.

"Enjoy your dinner…mudblood."

By the time she had turned around to tell Malfoy that she was going to report him to McGonagall, he had disappeared. He was such a git sometimes. Hermione shuddered suddenly. Harry was still in detention? And if Malfoy was bringing him dinner in her office, he would be there for most of the evening, at least. That woman was pure evil.

Hermione continued her walk down to the Great Hall, her thoughts dwelling on Harry and what they could do to get him out of detention. She sighed miserably as she sat down next to Ron, knowing that there wasn't anything she could really do.

"I'm glad you made the team, Ron."

"Thanks, Mione. And thanks for being there this afternoon…I…you know, needed the support." Ron looked confused at his kind words, and then mumbled, "Have you seen Harry?"

"No, but I just saw Malfoy."

"Um..." Ron gave her a stare, "Malfoy and Harry are definitely two different people."

"No," Hermione sighed loudly, "well, I mean, yes, they are different people. But I saw Malfoy taking dinner to Umbridge and Harry, which means she's not just keeping him all afternoon, but most of the evening too. She's such a…a…an old witch!!"

Ron scowled at Hermione, "She's more than that, she's a…"

Hermione clapped a hand over his mouth, "Ronald, we are _prefects!_ I will not tolerate you dismissing your position so easily. Watch it. We have a responsibility to this school—to the students, the professors—YES, RONALD, EVEN TO HER—and we have a responsibility to Dumbledore! Sure, I hate her as much as you do, but we have to do what we can within _our_ boundaries and try to help Harry at the same time. So calm down."

Ron stared at Hermione in complete shock. She'd yelled at him before, but this was different. She was siding with him, but guiding him in the best way to go through with everything.

Hermione sighed again, and turned back to the plate of food in front of her, "I'm not hungry anymore. In fact…I think I'm going to go see Umbridge."

"What?!" Ron began to pester her with questions, but she was already gone.

Hermione grimaced as she took off towards Umbridge's office. She wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do, but she had to do something. Harry was being tortured. Quite literally.

She paused before Umbridge's door and thought to herself. What on earth was she going to do? She knocked.

The door swung open to reveal the short, toadlike woman. Hermione had to resist every urge in her body to roll her eyes. She was covered from head to toe in pink, and she was sure the room behind the door was as well.

"Professor? Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you're here! I was working through the homework you assigned us, and I'm totally confused about what you want us to do on problem 6, see?"

Hermione reached into her bag to pull out her book and then stared at Umbridge in shock.

"Oh my gosh, Professor, I forgot my book! How silly of me! But surely you have an extra in your office?" Hermione smiled innocently, and Umbridge opened her door for Hermione to enter.

Hermione walked into the room, and immediately saw Harry. His entire right hand was covered in blood. She stifled a gasp, and turned to face Umbridge.

"Here is a copy of the text, Ms. Granger. What was your question?" Umbridge gave her wide smile, obviously pleased that her students were struggling.

Hermione began to prattle on about what she needed help with, and followed Umbridge to her desk. Umbridge began to answer, watching Hermione closely, and Hermione slowly turned her head towards Harry, who was staring at her in surprise.

"OH MY GOSH! Professor Umbridge, Harry is bleeding! Don't you think I should take him down to Madam Pomfrey? I mean, a wound like that should be looked at. What did you do, Harry?"

"I accidentally cut it on the edge of this desk just before you came in, Hermione…I'm fine, I promise." Harry smiled at her.

Hermione, meanwhile, was waving her wand about behind the desk, doing silent animal conjuring spells. Frogs. Lots of frogs. She was then stupefying them so that they wouldn't move until she had left. Until she had left with Harry.

"No, I think you should come. Maybe he can continue his detentions in a few days? Once his hand has healed, I mean." Hermione exchanged a nasty look with Umbridge who shifted in her seat.

"Perhaps you're right, Ms. Granger." She turned and frowned at Harry, "I suppose you may leave, Mr. Potter…but I expect you…"

"You expect me not to disrupt your class anymore, I know Professor Umbridge. Didn't you say I wouldn't have to do any more detentions as long as this one lasted until you said?" Harry gave her one of his almost-cocky smiles, and Umbridge scowled.

"I suppose I did. Very well, I will see both of you in class on Tuesday." She stood to show them out.

"Thanks, Professor, but I think we know the way out." Hermione took Harry's arm and guided him out of the room. Then she turned around and whispered "Rennervate!" once the door was closed.

A loud shriek alerted them to the fact that the toads were now doing their job. They could hear her yelling, "Depulso!! DEPULSO, I SAY!!! Deletrius!! Deletrius!!"

Harry and Hermione snuck around the corner and peered out to watch her door. In a few minutes, the door flew open, and Umbridge dashed out, breathing heavily and looking behind her. To her shock, all of the toads in the room began hopping out after her. She tried a last 'depulso' spell, and then took off in the direction of Dumbledore's office. Harry and Hermione stood laughing, until Hermione saw his hand again. She groaned and pulled Harry's tie off of him, wrapping it around his hand.

"Let's go, Harry. I have something for you to soak your hand in."

She took his other hand and led him back the Gryffindor common room, and then proceeded to usher him up to the girl's dormitories.

"Hermione, I can't—"

"Oh, don't be silly, Harry. Of course you can come up to my room. First of all, everyone else is at dinner, and secondly, I have to get it up there. I'm not going to carry the bowl down here." She smiled at him, and continued up the stairs, with Harry following at her heels.

She paused by a door that he assumed was hers, and then opened it and let him in. To Harry's surprise, there was a room with several sitting chairs, and then there were five doorways.

"Wait…you all have your own bloody rooms? But you're always talking about how horrible it is living with—"

"Harry, shh!" Hermione gave him a glare, and then explained, "Yes, the girls each get their own rooms, but we have to share the living space. Besides, we're always running in and out of each other's rooms…so it is quite a pain to live together. Come on, then."

She led him to the second room on the left, which was decorated much like the boy's rooms. At least that was equal, Harry realized. Their beds were a bit bigger, but they had the Gryffindor colors and curtains around the beds. However, each of the girls had their own closet and dresser, as well as a desk. Harry gaped for a moment, and then watched as Hermione walked to the desk, and started shuffling through the shelves above.

"Here we are." Hermione took down a bottle filled with silver liquid and poured it into a glass bowl. She then handed the bowl to Harry, and motioned him to sit down on the bed. She sat down next to him, took his hand, took the tie off, and then dipped his hand into the bowl. Harry moaned as it stung for a few seconds, and then sighed in relief.

"Scourgify." Hermione whispered, waving her wand at his tie, and then she smiled at Harry, "I'm so glad I got you out of there!"

"I'm glad you did too…I mean…thank you, Hermione." Harry lifted his hand up to touch her cheek, "Last night was…ummm…" he paused uncertainly, "it was amazing, Hermione."

"Yeah…it was, Harry." She smiled shyly at him, and realized that she felt incredibly giddy—she also realized that his hand was still on her cheek.

"Hermione…I…" Harry began to turn the slightest shade of pink, and Hermione realized immediately what he was thinking. She responded as naturally as she could—she leaned in and kissed him.

It was more of a brush of the lips than anything, but when she pulled back, Harry was staring at her in amazement. His hand that had been perched on her cheek slipped down to her waist, and he pulled her to him, with the bowl of murtlap essence pressing against them both. Then he leaned his head down and kissed her for a long, long time. Their lips were meshing together as if that's the way they were meant to interact. Granted, there were no fireworks or sudden realizations that this was it, this was what they had been waiting for, but neither of them had expected that. All they found was immense comfort and great caring for each other. Their friendship had blossomed from the ordinary, typical friendship, into something beautiful. They knew each other—they always had, but they had allowed the way they saw each other to expand and grow. They both knew there would not be any judgment between them, but that didn't mean things would always be easy. It just meant that things would be.

When the pair finally broke apart, the murtlap had fallen to the floor, the bowl shattered and the essence gone.

"Hermione, I'm—"

"Shh." Hermione smiled up at him and gave him another quick kiss, "It's all right. I'll clean this up really quickly and then we'll wrap your hand.

She waved her hand toward the mess, muttering "Reparo!" and then "Scourgify!"

Then she moved over to her desk and pulled down a box of bandages, which of course Hermione Granger would have, and selected one for Harry. As she was digging through the box, however, Harry had snuck up behind her and now had his arms wrapped around her from behind.

"Harry…" Hermione sighed and he lifted up his right hand.

"There, you can wrap it now."

She giggled softly and began to wrap his hand, as he pushed her bushy hair to the side and began kissing her neck gently.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked and spun around, kissing him softly, "You're driving me crazy."

Harry's eyes lit up, suddenly, "Let's lock ourselves in here."

"What? No. We have work to do tonight, we have the meeting tonight, and we can't just…"

Harry cupped her face in his hands, "I love it when you get focused on work." He leaned his head down to give her a last kiss, and then shrugged his shoulders, "Alright, I suppose there's no getting out of it. Let's go find Ron and head down to the meeting."

Hermione smiled up at him gratefully, and then took his hand, "We'll stay up late tonight, I promise."

Harry laughed, and the two snuck back to the common room together.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks to Luna Lovegood's Magic, Readerforlife, DarkHeart81, RoryAceHayden147, Edmund O'Donald, junebugbug96, ell the weasel, theflowofmusic, randomharmony13, alexlee4samjeane, master-moehri86, ..girls, Neeps513,dougal74, DrowningCloseToMe, , SkyTreader52, and SamanthaTran for the reviews!! It's so encouraging to hear back from you all. I realized tonight that I've been sorely lacking in my thank yous, so I decided to do them all at once. Enjoy the next chapter!!

Hermione and Harry were the last to arrive in the Room of Requirement—Luna, Neville, and Ron were already sitting, talking. Much to Harry and Hermione's surprise, the Weasley twins were also present. Hermione crossed her arms and scowled as Harry shut and bolted the door.

"What are you two doing here?" Hermione knew the Weasley twins were generally known as troublemakers, and if they said one wrong word about this, all of them would be in a lot more than trouble.

"Well, little Ronnykins was trying to escape the Gryffindor common room," Fred began.

"While we were still discussing the Quidditch tryouts, and how much he has to live up to this year." George clapped Ron on the back.

"Of course, Ron couldn't keep this a secret for very long, and he told us that he had to go study with you and Harry." Fred began to smile and lean back in a smug way.

"Which we knew Ron wouldn't be so anxious to do…so we offered to come with him." George also gave a proud smirk, and the two exchanged glances.

"Fine." Hermione was close to snarling, "Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall have suggested that we begin to…practice our Defense against the Dark Arts, as our newest professor seems to be convinced that practicing spells is a waste of time."

Harry smiled at Hermione and spoke softly, "We need to come up with a list of students to approach about joining this study group. We feel that it needs to be offered to many, but not necessarily publicized. Does anyone have any other ideas of whom we could approach? People who wouldn't be anxious to rat us out?"

"Well, Harry, I do think we should include Katie Bell and Angelina. I think it will be easier to work these meetings around practice if they're both here. Besides, the four of us and Lee Jordan are rather upset with this Umbridge business. I'd say all three of them would be safe enough." George shrugged his shoulders and Fred nodded along.

"And we should include Dean and Seamus," Ron grinned suddenly, "It's not like we'll be able to hide the late nights from them. Lavender Brown would probably like to join us too, I suppose." Ron suddenly turned a shade of pink, and Fred and George rolled their eyes.

"And Michael Corner," Ginny offered suddenly, "he's rather good with spells, and he'd never turn us in. He wouldn't come without Zacharias Smith."

Hermione was furiously scribbling names, but she took a moment to glance up and speak for herself, "What about the Patil twins?"

Every nodded in agreement.

"There's also Ernie Macmillan. I know he's considered stuck up and rude, sometimes, but he's incredibly smart. I think he should be on our list." Harry spoke firmly, "He's kind of like a male Hermione."

His last remark earned him a quick slap and a grin from Hermione.

"The Creevey brothers are very intelligent…" Luna spoke in her normal daydreamy tone, "although there are often wrackspurts following them around…but I'm sure that will clear up as they get older."

"There's also that Susan Bones girl," Fred's forehead furrowed for an instant, "She could do a world of good, I think. After all, she has contacts in the ministry. Amelia Bones?"

Harry's jaw dropped, "Amelia Bones was part of the board that accused me this summer. She was the only one that seemed to think I deserved a fair trial."

"I'd say Susan Bones is a yes, then." Hermione began to fold up her piece of parchment. "Very well, I think each of us should talk to the people we suggested. Writing letters to them is too risky…it will have to be done in person and in secret. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone aside from the twins nodded.

"Alright," Harry gave everyone a grin, "Hermione and I were talking, and we wanted to start with the most basic of spells—Expelliarmus. Then once Hermione or I have seen that you've mastered that, you can move on to Stupefy. So, pair up, and let us know when you think you've done well enough.

The pairings were quick, and not surprising—Fred and George, Ron and Ginny, and Neville and Luna. Harry was once again surprised with the space in the Room of Requirement. There was more than enough room for them all to spread out and get to work. Fred and George immediately moved on to Stupefying each other—Harry and Hermione had them lay pillows out around them so that they wouldn't hurt themselves when they landed. Ron and Ginny quickly followed suit, but Neville was struggling with Expelliarmus, still. Luna had the hang of it, and she seemed to be trying to help Neville, but Hermione had to take over in the end.

"Here, Neville," she took his hand in her own, "try this wand motion, and make sure you're keeping eye contact with Luna. If the spell misses her, it certainly won't work. You can do it, Neville."

She watched him with anticipation, and he attempted the spell again. Luna's wand flew out of her hand.

"There you go!" Hermione smiled at him and hugged him, "All you needed was a little confidence, Neville! Try it a few more times, and you can move on."

Neville was smiling, and continued his practice.

Fred and George were both looking rather bored as they continued to cast their stupefy spells, so Harry walked over to them.

"I think I need to teach the two of you the spell that Hermione came up with a few days ago." Harry grinned at them.

"She's coming up with her own spells now?"

"Bloody brilliant, that one is."

"Yeah, she's something else. Here, let me demonstrate for you. When I say ready, I want one of you to cast a jinx at me." Harry lifted his wand and spoke so the twins could hear, "Avis Includo! Protego Maximus!" He then smiled at the twins and said, "Ready."

Fred grinned and cried, "Tarantallegra!"

Harry grinned back at Fred as the spell ricocheted off of the shield and struck Fred. Fred began to dance uncontrollably, until George muttered the counter curse.

"What was that, Harry?" Fred wheezed, trying to catch his breath.

"That was a new shield spell Hermione's discovered." Harry walked over to the nearest shelf, and spotted just the book he was looking for—surprise, surprise. "Here, this book will give you a list of spells for various animals. You conjure the animals, then say 'includo' if you want them to protect you, and then 'Protego Maximus'. If you want them to attack, however, you say 'Obsepirius! Oppugno!'."

Fred and George stared at Hermione from their spots. She was busy working with Ginny and Ron, and thankfully didn't notice.

"I think once you two get good enough at this, you'll be able to practice while moving around the room. It will certainly make things more interesting, and you'll become awfully good aims. Anytime you have mastered what the class is studying, I'd suggest you work on these spells. It's not an easy feat—Hermione doesn't have it mastered yet, and she came up with the idea." Harry motioned for the two to get to work, and soon the room was filled with birds, butterflies, and other animals.

Unfortunately, the havoc of all the animals eventually distracted the students from their focus, and Harry and Hermione dismissed the class. The two then remained, casting depulso spells on the creatures they could, until Hermione finally realized that she could cast a "Depulso maximus" spell, and get rid of all the flying, crawling, animals. She did so at once, and the two collapsed on cushions.

"I'd say these lessons are going to come in handy, wouldn't you, Harry? I mean…we got so much done tonight. Neville mastered Expelliarmus and Stupefy, and the others were completely ready to move on. Fred and George were already working on the new protection and attacking spell…we'll just have to teach them Depulso, I suppose. We're going to learn so much this year! I can just feel it." Hermione beamed at him.

"Yeah, I'd say so, Mione." Harry smiled and took her hand, yawning, "I'm glad tomorrow is Sunday. I'm going to sleep for ages and then finish up my homework in the afternoon, I think. I'm just so tired."

"I know what you mean…" Hermione struggled to keep back a yawn of her own, and then sighed, "I suppose we should head back to the dormitories. We can talk with Ron for a little while and then head to be. It's almost midnight already, Harry."

She sat up and attempted to stand, but Harry kept a strong hold of her hand. He sat up next to her and took her face in his own, "You're not leaving without a kiss, you aren't." He grinned at her, his emerald eyes shimmering in the dark.

"Oh, Harry! I almost forgot that we were…" Hermione giggling, giving him a hug, "So much has been going on…I completely forgot that we were a couple for a moment. Everything is so new, and I…I…"

Harry kissed her gently, his hands slipping around her waist.

"I know what you mean, Mione. Everything has been happening so quickly. We have these lessons, and Sirius is still missing, and classes, and O.W.L.s, and now we have a hidden relationship." He smile and kissed her again, "Don't feel bad about forgetting now and again. I'll always be here for you."

"Always, Harry?" She looked up at him, concern etching her features.

"Well, as long as Voldemort doesn't get me first." He was joking, but she smacked his chest anyway, "I'm kidding, Hermione. Really, I am first and foremost your friend. I will always be here for you as your friend—no matter what happens between us." He dipped his head down again and gave her another kiss, finding himself lost in her scent and the way her smooth lips felt beneath his own.

Hermione was fighting the urge to shiver—for some reason his touch was giving her tingles throughout her body, it was like having a chill. The way he held her against him made her feel like he needed her there, like he would never be happy without her—it made her feel beautiful and desired. She fought back tears of joy, and sunk into his arms. She broke the kiss and buried her face in his shoulder.

"Hermione? Are you okay?"

"I'm just happy, Harry. So very happy."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I owe you all an apology. I've been doing low-key work…the last 5 chapters or so, I've written in an hours time. So, this chapter I am DETERMINED to spend a lot of time on. I'd also like to note that the beginning of this chapter is a lot different from the style of writing I've been using. It probably still has my writing aura to it, but it's a bit more…descriptive, and addresses a lot more of the emotional turmoil that is Harry Potter. Enjoy!!

For once the Common Room was empty when Hermione Granger came down the stairs. It was 9'o'clock on a Sunday morning—she and Harry had come back to the dorms the previous, and she'd gone straight to bed. It seemed that Hermione had forgotten that Gryffindors (and the rest of Hogwarts) enjoyed a lie-in on Sunday mornings. She quickly adjusted her robes, headed out of the Common Room, and into the hall. She glanced left, and then right—no one was to be seen. Hermione heaved a great sigh and then headed down the nearest set of stairs.

No one really knew about her Sunday morning ritual. Her parents had always been fairly religious, taking her to church on Sundays, so Hermione was used to having to get up early. However, as Hermione wasn't entirely sure how she felt about religion, but she had always enjoyed the peace and tranquility of a Sunday morning in a large stained glass chapel. While it was next to impossible for her to find a stained glass chapel on the Hogwarts ground, she liked to go sit by the lake, under her favorite tree, close her eyes, and allow her brain to basically shut down. It was one of very few things that had kept her calm—and sane—over the past 5 years.

Hermione, instead of using the front entrance, snuck out through a courtyard—it was the straightest shot to her tree. The tree was positioned toward the lake in such a way so that if she sat in a particular spot, no one would see her unless they walked right up next to her. Before she knew it, she'd made it to the tree. She leaned against it for a few moments, just watching the sparking water—it was smooth today, unlike some of the wintry days last year when she'd cast ridiculous amounts of heating spells to keep herself warm in spite of the frigid wind. Hermione smiled to herself and sat down in the small crevice between the roots of the tree. It was mossy, which made it soft, and it wasn't a particularly dirty area, so she didn't have to worry about cleaning her robes. Hermione leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes. Her mind slowly emptied, and she opened her eyes and focused on the beauty around her. Everything was so much more beautiful when one's mind wasn't racing or stressed. As she took in the things around her, she could practically feel the tension of the last few days stripping away from her.

Her eyes followed an osprey as it dove from the sky and captured a fish from the lake, and then she allowed them to skim across the lake to the forest beyond, where she could see deer running towards the trees. Hermione sat, entranced by stillness of the lake, the feel of the slightest breeze against her face, and the sights of the animals around and in the lake. Even the smell of a fresh morning kept her spellbound. After what felt like a few short moments—but she knew was more like thirty minutes—she rose again and turned to walk back up to the path. However, she was shocked when she saw Harry standing there, gazing across the lake. His eyes seemed unfocused, and she knew that he wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings, or he would have seen her already.

"Harry?"

"Her—Hermione. How long have you been here?"

"About half an hour…are you—"

"What did you hear?"

"Harry, I didn't hear anything."

He frowned at her, his eyes almost glaring into her. Hermione could tell that something was seriously wrong, but she didn't know what.

"I have to go." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and began to walk away—away from Hermione, away from the castle. He wasn't even following the path, just walking across the grass. Hermione watched him for a few moments, and then took off after him.

"Harry, stop it!"

He spun around, and stared at her—his eyes were glazed over, and it was as if he didn't completely understand what was going on. Hermione caught up to him and touched his arm gently.

"What's wrong? Talk to me."

Harry sighed and stared at the ground, "I had another dream last night, around 3…I couldn't sleep after. I've been out here wandering around ever since."

Hermione took his hand and realized it was freezing.

"Oh, Harry. Do you want to talk?"

"Not really…can you just walk with me?"

"Yeah, of course." Hermione took his hand and let him lead her towards the nearest patch of the Forbidden Forest. She was about to protest entering the Forest, but one look at Harry's face told her she shouldn't. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he still had a glassy-eyed stare. His hair was messier than normal, and his clothes were wrinkled—he wasn't wearing robes, just muggle clothing. One of his shoes was untied, and his glasses were sitting awkwardly on his face. Hermione began to worry.

He led her a few yards into the Forest, and then backed her against a tree.

"Harry, what are you—"

He silenced her with a firm kiss. "I just…need to be with you, Hermione."

"Okay, Harry."

He kissed her again, pressing her between himself and the tree. Hermione shivered at the force of his touch. His hands slid over the shape of her body, down her waist, trailing along her hips, and then drifting back up to her shoulders. She let out a soft moan as he began to kiss his way up and down her neck. He smiled against her skin and lifted his face back up to hers, giving her another long, deep kiss. She let her tongue slip against his lips, and he anxiously opened them. The kiss deepened, and he clutched her more tightly. They finally broke apart.

"Harry, that was—"

"I'm sorry if it was too much, I just—"

She put a finger to his lips, "Harry, that was wonderful."

He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers, "I just…needed to feel you. To know that you're here and I'm here and we're both…"

Harry suddenly found himself fighting back tears. He buried his face in her shoulder, and Hermione felt him go limp.

She slid to the ground, and he stayed pressed against her.

"Harry, we need to talk about this," She was greeted with silence, "but only when you're ready, okay?"

The shadows of the forbidden forest were closing in around them—not because it was getting dark outside, but because that's how the forest was; Dark, gloomy, and shadowed. It hadn't really ever frightened Hermione; it just gave her an eerie tingle down her spine. She wound her fingers into Harry's hair as he clutched her tightly. He slowly pulled her onto his lap, so that he was holding onto her—as if she was the one that needed help. Hermione understood his need to be close to someone, and she was glad that he had chosen her. A branch creaked nearby, and Hermione looked up.

In the shadows behind them were two large eyes, about eight feet from the ground. She opened her mouth to say something to Harry, but the eyes began to move toward them and she reached for her wand instead. As a low growl reached her ears and she silently lifted her wand out of her robes and began to point it towards the approaching…thing…when a voice rang out.

"Hermione Granger, you put that thing down. I ain't be causin' you no harm." To her surprise, Hagrid and Fang stepped out of the shadows, and for some reason he didn't seem surprised to find her in Harry's arms.

Harry didn't move to acknowledge Hagrid's presence.

"Hagrid…" Hermione looked up at him with her big brown eyes—she knew that they were probably somewhat frightened, and mostly exhausted. For some reason being with Harry seemed to have drained her emotions.

"S'alright, Mione." Hagrid offered her a hand and helped her up, and then he gripped Harry by the shoulders, lifting him off of the forest floor. He kept his hands on the dark-haired boy's shoulders and steered him through the trees, keeping an eye on the following Hermione and Fang. Hermione glanced over at Fang who was walking beside her—large globs of drool were falling from his jowls, but his eyes were expertly glancing at their surroundings. Sure, he would turn into a complete chicken if something popped out at them, but he was at least watching. The quartet finally slipped out of the woods—Hermione was surprised to find that they came out a few yards from Hagrid's home. He led Harry inside and sat him down in a chair, then shuffled over to his little kitchen, where he filled his teapot full of water and then came back to join them.

Hermione was standing just behind Harry, her hand placed lightly on his shoulder, and his eyes were still partially glazed over. Hagrid sat down with a heavy sigh and then cleared his throat.

"Alrigh' Harry, tha's enough mopin' for now. You best tell me what happened." He leaned back in his chair and kept his eyes on Harry, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Come on, then," Hagrid waved his hand, "out with it."

"I…I've been having dreams, Hagrid. About my mother. I keep dreaming of her death. Voldemort is there, telling her to move aside, that he wants me, not her…and then…" Harry trailed off, shaking his head, "But it's as if I'm seeing it from another point of view. Like I'm watching it all happen. I see myself crying behind her in the crib, I see my mother pleading, trying to trick Voldemort even, and I see him…" Harry shuddered and buried his face in his hands, "Last night, it was like I couldn't wake up. I just had the dream over and over again. When I woke up…there was a note on the end of my bed. It was from Remus…he said that there still hadn't been any word of Sirius, and they didn't think things looked good. After all, it's been over a week….and…"

Hermione's eyes were watering, and so were Hagrid's. Harry was a young, strong man. Neither of them had ever seen him have a breakdown like this before. But losing the one new person in his life who he thought would always be there for him, and seeing the death of the person who was supposed to be there for him seemed to have pushed him over the edge.

"Hagrid…" Harry's voice was shaking, but he spoke all the same, "I think someone was in the room with my mother. I need to find out who it was, and why they were there."

Hagrid frowned at Harry, "Tha' could be a can o' worms you don't want to open, Harry."

"I need to know. I can't…I can't do anything about Sirius…I've tried—we've tried coming up with plans, but all I can do is wait. So I have to do _something_. I have to find out who was close to my mom. Do you know of anyone that she was close to at school?"

Hagrid watched Harry for several long minutes and then finally spoke, "She was always close with Remus…and Alice and Frank Longbottom. I don't know if there's anyone else aside from…"

Hagrid trailed off quietly, and Harry stared at him fiercely, "Hagrid, you have to tell me."

Hagrid cleared his throat again and spoke slowly and clearly, "Harry, you have to understand. He never would've done anythin' to hurt Lily…if anythin' he was in love with her."

"In love? With my mother?" Harry's jaw dropped in shock, "Who was it?"

"Harry…it was Severus Snape."

Silence flooded the room.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Agh! I'm so sorry, dear readers…I hope you'll forgive me for not writing as much as I'd planned on…I do intend to finish this though!! Maybe I'll write more this summer? :c) Anyway, this is probably going to be a bit long, so read, enjoy, and enjoy the summary that awaits you when Harry and Hermione take their walk. I dunno about you, but I'm a little dizzy from all that has happened so far!!

Hermione groaned as Harry shoved his chair back from the table and it fell to the floor. He scowled, opened his mouth like he was about to tell, and then stormed away furiously, across the lawn towards the castle. It was mid-afternoon by this point, and there were people running around and studying on the grass everywhere; it would probably be one of the last days of nice weather for a while. She gave Hagrid a tender smile.

"I'm sorry he…I have to…" Hagrid shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"s'not your fault, Hermione. You'd best go'n'get him before he reaches Professor Snape, though."

Hermione's eyes widened and she took off after Harry.

"HARRY!!! HARRY, WAIT UP!!"

Harry didn't slow down.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, IF YOU DON'T STOP THIS INSTANT I'LL—" She stopped yelling as she caught up to him, but Harry was spinning around to face her angrily, and she almost plowed into him. He caught her before she could fall and let go of her the instant she was steady again.

"I have to go talk to him. He could have been watching the night my mother died. I have to know what was going on, Hermione."

"I understand that, Harry, but maybe…maybe you should wait until you've calmed down a bit. If you just go charging into his office, he'll probably give you detention. Wait until this evening, at least." She bit her lip.

"I'm sick of waiting!" He growled.

Hermione took his hand in hers, "I know. Why don't we get some lunch from the Great Hall, and then talk about things some more…this has been such a crazy day…I think we both just need a breather."

Harry's face tightened, and he looked away.

"Harry, please?"

A sigh escaped his lips, "Alright."

Hermione released his hand, and then began to walk slowly towards the castle again. Harry stayed patiently by her side, "These last few days have been very long and very tedious…I think you really just need to take a break this afternoon. We have most of our work done; we can save the rest for tonight. Why don't you and I grab some food to go from the Great Hall, and then come out to the lawn? We can relax out here for a while, or we can go find Ron and the two of you could play some Quidditch, or…"

"Hermione…why don't we grab lunch and then the two of us can take a walk or something? We have a lot to talk about, I think."

"Okay, Harry…that sounds fine."

* * *

The two carried their sandwiches, apples, and cookies around the edge of the lake with them. They walked in silence, as Hermione was waiting for Harry to be the first to talk. Harry put a hand on Hermione's shoulder and led her to a little spot by the lake where they could sit and talk…there were trees between the shore and the path, so it was unlikely that anyone would find them.

They ate their meal in silence, and Hermione felt apprehension growing in the pit of her stomach. Was Harry just exhausted and frustrated? Or was he actually mad at her? What could she do to get him to talk? She glanced over at him as she finished off her sandwich, and then she leaned back against one of the trees.

"I…" Harry trailed off, and then put his head in his hands, "I'm so tired."

Hermione gave him a concerned look, "Here, Harry." She patted her lap, and he laid down perpendicular to her; his head in her lap. She began to run her hands through his hair, knowing he would talk when he was ready. And just like that, he began to speak—words gushed from him, as if a dam had suddenly broken loose.

"When I saw you at King's Crossing, I could tell something had changed, and I didn't know what. You've grown into such a gorgeous, woman, Hermione. I think that when I saw you, in all your beauty, I had hope that this year would be different. That maybe Voldemort wouldn't destroy things; that maybe I had a fighting chance at happiness. But I don't think that's true. Almost as soon as I let myself hope, I got that message about Sirius, and no one knows where he is anymore. But you distract me from that, you just manage to always distract me and make me hope. Then I face this shit with Umbridge. And there are these dreams. Then I find out about Snape…I'm just so tired of this shit, Hermione! But…"

"But?"

"But I'm glad you're here…I don't think I would be able to handle any of this without you."

"Oh, Harry…" she sighed softly, "You know, you do have a chance with hope and love and happiness. In fact, I think you have more hope, love, and happiness than the average person I know. Look at your friends—Luna, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Neville—the list goes on and on. You have more family than you know what to do with; you have Sirius, Remus, my family, Ron's family, Neville's grandmother for sure, and not to mention Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. You know they all think of you as their own. You're capable of so much, Harry…and we'll get through this."

"I know…"

Hermione sat there in silence, looking down at Harry, "There's nothing you can do about Sirius, so try to let it go. There's nothing you can do about what happened to your parents…but I promise I will help you figure out everything. I'll be with you until V-Voldemort is gone for good."

"Thanks, Hermione."

"You don't have to thank me. Just promise you'll let me help…that you won't just get mad and throw your hands up in the air and do something rash—something stupid."

Harry chuckled, "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize; Promise you won't do it."

He looked up into her firm eyes, and said, "Alright, I promise."

"Good. Now, what do you think we should do about Snape?"

"I think…I think I should go to him calmly. If he was friends with my mother, then he can tell me about her. Then I can ask him what he knows about her death."

"Harry…maybe you should just start finding out about their friendship first. Ask Remus, and ask McGonagall. Then you can go to Snape and ask him more specific questions…eventually you'll find out if he was there when she died…even If you don't find out right away. I think you're going to have to…be nice to Snape."

"I…"

"Harry, what are you going to do? Go charging in there asking a million questions? You know how that will turn out."

"Yeah…okay. Can we write Remus a letter tonight?"

"Of course."

Harry smiled up at her again, "Thanks so much, Hermione. For everything."

"Of course."

They spent the rest of their afternoon in shared silence, enjoying the light cool breeze, and the rays of the sun which peaked through the branches and over the clouds. They talked a little about school, about the DA, and about spending winter break together, but they mostly spent the time in silence. Harry did fall asleep for an hour or so in the afternoon, leaving Hermione to her thoughts, but they did not move until shadows had fallen across them, and the moon was beginning to rise in the sky.

Hermione leaned over and whispered in Harry's ear, "Wake up. We have to get back to the castle. It's already dark out."

Harry groaned and stretched, and then his eyes shot open, "I didn't dream."

"Good." She touched his cheek and smiled at him, "You needed rest."

Harry stood up, and then helped Hermione up as well. She began to slip through the trees, but her caught her hand and drew her to him, whispering, "You're my good luck charm, Hermione Granger."

Then he leaned down and caught her lips in his.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hey guys! Wow, two updates in two days! You probably all think I'm crazy! :c) Ah well, I figured I'd better take advantage of my writing mood while I can. :c) A special thank you goes out this time to Edmond O'Donald for leaving me a fantastic review!! Please keep the reviews coming! Let me know what I can do to make this story better, and tell me what YOU think should happen next!! Until I write again! :c)

P.S. All credit goes to JK.

Hermione took the letter in her hand and read through it one more time,

Remus--

I got your note, and I understand. I'll keep my eyes out for anything unusual around here. I've been having dreams, lately, and I thought you should know. They've been about flowers that die slowly. It's horrid…anyway, my big friend told me that there was an oil that hung around in the air when flowers die, because the oil was just with the flower a lot. I thought that was interesting. I…was curious what as to what you knew about that. Let me know as soon as you can.

--Harry

She handed it back to Harry, "It's good…I don't see how anyone would understand what you're talking about. Go get some sleep…send it in the morning."

"You should get some sleep too, " Harry gave her a smile.

"I have a little more work to do, and then I'll—"

"Believe me, your work can wait. Go to sleep."

"Alright." Hermione rose and gave Harry a very quick hug, as there were still a few stragglers in the common room. It was close to midnight.

"Meet you for breakfast in the morning?"

"Yeah." Hermione fought back a girly grin, and then moved toward the dormitory steps. She had just taken the first step up when a loud shot stopped her.

"OI! HERMIONE! Where are you going? We have rounds." Hermione spun around to see a red-haired, freckled boy yelling at her.

"Let me put this stuff upstairs…I'll be right down." Hermione trudged up to her room, and suddenly felt like bursting into tears. She was tired too; she needed to just go to sleep, not walk around the castle for the next hour with Ronald Weasley. She threw the books onto her bed, and then went back downstairs to meet Ron in the common room.

"Shall we?" She muttered, glumly.

"What's your problem?"

"Who said I have a problem?" Hermione paused, "Let's start in the dungeons and work our way up."

"Fine." They were quiet as the exited the common room and worked their way down stairs into the dungeons, and then Ron spoke, "obviously something is bothering you."

"It was just a long day."

"A long day with Harry, I suppose. I didn't see either of you until you came back to the common room and started doing homework."

"Yeah…I was with Harry for most of it."

Ron made a noncommittal noise. After a while Hermione asked, "Is that a problem?"

"That you were with Harry?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Okay…" Hermione trailed off as Ron stopped in his tracks, staring straight ahead down the dark hall. His wand was held in front of him, glowing from the lumos spell they had each whispered. He was frowning.

"I just wish that you two wouldn't shut me out like you've been doing."

"What?" Hermione wasn't confused by his statement, it was more of the fact that Ronald Weasley had changed over the summer—in fact, he'd matured quite a bit.

"Well, you're always together, and I get the feeling that you aren't telling me something. I know you and Harry are really close—closer than I'll ever be with either of you but—"

"Ron, stop it." Hermione walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Wha—"

"Yes, Harry and I are very close, but you're just as close to us. It's a different kind of close, sure, but we need you around Ron. You're our best friend."

"Okay…" Ronald trailed off, staring at the floor.

"And I know Harry and I have been busy, but you and I have rounds together every other night this week, don't we?"

"Yeah."

"And you and Harry will have QUidditch practice."

"Yeah."

"And we'll have all of our homework to do."

"…yeah…"

"Not to mention prepping for our O.W.L.s. I was thinking about starting with our first year studies and making a study guide of all the most important materials we've covered. That would help us narrow our focus on what we need to study."

Ron stared at her with wide eyes as they began to walk again.

"Our O.W.L.s are going to be SO important, you know? I just want us to do our best. Over Christmas break I'll finish up the study guide and make copies of it for you and Harry. That way we can start really studying together next term. I mean, if we—"

"Bloody Hell!" Ronald exclaimed, as they moved from the dungeons to the first floor of the castle.

"What did you see, R—"

"No, it's nothing I saw…I just…I'm really busy this year."

"Yes, yes you are, Ronald."

"Wow. I hope L—" Ron gulped, "I hope I can HAVE _L_unch every day…I mean…I'd hate to miss a meal."

Hermione smiled and choked back a giggle. Ron was not worried about missing lunch—the day he MISSED a meal would be the day that hell froze over. Hermione knew just what he was worried about.

"How was Luna today?"

"Oh she was gr—DID HARRY TELL YOU?" Ron's tone went from excitement, to shock, to rage in under 3 seconds."

"No, Harry didn't say a word, Ronald. I'm just not oblivious. The moment you saw her on the train you were practically drooling over her."

" I wasn't droo—"

"What did you do today?"

"We…"Ron sighed, feeling awkward for talking about his romantic interests with Hermione…after all, he'd liked her up until they'd gotten on the train this year, "We took a really long walk."

"Around the lake?"

"No, out past the green houses. She likes it over there, because there aren't as many people…we laid in the grass and read the Quibbler together."

"Upside down, I suspect?"

"Don't make fun, Hermione."

"Alright, alright. Luna is just a bit…strange, that's all."

Ron smiled at this, "I know. That's what I l…like about her."

Hermione grinned, "I'm happy for you, Ronald. I am."

"Thanks…we're not, you know, dating or anything yet. We just…are friends."

"Good ones, I expect."

"Yeah. Good friends."

Hermione smiled and they walked further on in silence, past the teacher's offices, the transfiguration classroom, the teacher's lounge, and to the Great Hall. They paused in the door way of the Great Hall, looking around cautiously—no one. They'd been told there weren't often students in the halls after hours until just before breaks. Hopefully that would mean they would have easy patrols. The pair continued on, after checking the Great Hall carefully.

"What did you and Harry do today?"

"oh…" Hermione sighed quietly, "Well…I got up early, because I like to sit by myself by the lake on Sundays…and Harry showed up and we…took a walk…and, I guess we ended up at Hagrid's. Then we got some lunch and took it to a spot down by the lake…we just sat there and talked and stuff until we came back to get some dinner and do homework in the common room."

"Oh."

"Yeah…nothing too exciting."

"What did you talk about?"

"I…well…honestly, I didn't talk much. It was mostly Harry…I think you should ask him, it's really his story to tell…" Hermione bit her lip, wondering if Ron would be mad.

"Okay. I'll ask him tomorrow, if I think about it. Is he mad about that toad?"

"I don't think that's really bothering him much, right now. He has enough on his plate."

"Yeah…" Ron sighed.

Hermione peered in a nearby classroom on the second floor, it said it was about 12:45.

"I suppose we should head to the Great Hall, to let the next shift know where we stopped…it'll take 15 minutes to get there, if we check the landings and halls along the way. Who is taking over for us?"

"Give you one guess."

"Malfoy?"

"Yep."

"Alright, then. Let's go."

They arrived in the Great Hall a few minutes early, and were amazed at how gloomy and dark it seemed. The ceiling was filled with twinkling stars, but there were a significant amount of clouds that were hiding the moon from view. Hermione looked around for Malfoy.

"Oi, the mudblood and the traitor. You know, you two would make a _very_ adorable couple…I can see it now, little frizzy-haired red heads with freckles and buck teeth."

"Malfoy, one more word out of you and I'll report you."

"Oh yes, I'm so very afraid of being reported."

"Well, I could hex you instead, but I'm afraid you're not worth the effort. We got through the second floor almost completely." Hermione stormed towards the door to the hall and then spun around quickly, "Pansy, keep your hound on a leash next time you drag him along."

With that, she disappeared into the darkness, hearing Ronald's footsteps catching up to her.

"Hermione! Oi, wait up!"

Hermione slowed her pace, and Ronald caught up to her.

"You kick the shit out of him with your words, you know."

"I think you've told me that once or twice." Hermione grinned in the darkness, "I know that I'm smarter than he is…and I'm sick of letting him walk all over my friends. I've just had it, Ronald. I'm not going to just stand by this year and let him do whatever."

"Good. Someone needs to stand up to him, and I don't know of anyone else than can like you."

Hermione beamed, "Thanks, Ron."

"Just telling the truth."

They made their way up the grand staircase, and then wound their way up through the moving staircases to the Gryffindor dormitory. They were fortunate enough to stay on target—the stairs seemed to move less at night than they did during the day—and they made it back to the common room in a matter of minutes.

"Night, Hermione. Get some rest. See you for breakfast."

Hermione smiled at Ron, "Night, Ronald. Thanks for making rounds fun."

"Sure." Ron stifled a yawn and shuffled up the stairs. Hermione sighed and looked around the empty common room. She was tempted to go get her books and head back down here to do work—it was just quiet enough. The fire was no longer roaring, it was a gentle glow, and the last slivers of its warmth were beginning to slip from the room. For a moment, the room itself looked tired. The chairs showed their wear and tear, and the room seemed to sag as the shadows pulled at the corners of it. Hermione closed her eyes, and felt herself finally begin to slip away into her exhaustion. It was time for bed. She stumbled up the stairs and scurried into her bedroom, where she tumbled into bed, without even removing any clothing. And as she tumbled into bed, two arms wrapped around her waist.

She shrieked, but a hand clapped over her mouth before she could make a noise. It was then that she laid eyes on none other than Harry Potter.

In her bed.

At 1 in the morning.

She jerked his hand away from her mouth and frowned, "What on earth do you think you're doing here?"

"I had more nightmares…I don't have them when I'm with you. Can I please sleep here?"

Hermione sighed and fought to not roll her eyes. She thought long and hard before responding, and Harry squirmed in the silence.

"Tonight you can stay. Tomorrow, I will go and see Dumbledore about it. He understands you need rest, and I'm sure he'll be okay with it, but I want him knowing. Let me cast a Disillusionment charm in case anyone comes in." She sat up so she could perform the charm, but Harry stopped her.

"Dumbledore won't be okay with it."

"He will when I explain it. That's what _I'm_ going to talk to him and _you _ are not." Hermione leaned over and performed the charm quickly, "Now Harry, go to sleep."

Hermione soon realized the flaw to her plan—SHE couldn't see Harry. He pulled her to him so that she was snuggled against his chest. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop it, but the instant she laid down she realized just how tired she really was.

And, with that, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter fell into a deep sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione Granger woke up and lazily batted her eyes. She could have sworn that Harry wanting to sleep in her bed was all a dream—and she probably would have, if he hadn't been lying directly under her. Hermione let out a shriek and leapt from the bed, elbowing Harry in the process. Harry, who had still been asleep, grunted, clutched his stomach, and sat up with a very confused, dazed look on his face. However, as he was still under the Disillusionment charm, she couldn't tell what he was doing.

"Harry?" She stood up slowly, staring where she assumed he lay.

Harry moaned, and glanced over at Hermione, "I'm fine. I'm fine. I suppose that was my cue to beat it, hm?"

"No…I just…I mean…yeah…I suppose you should go back to your room, before Ron wakes up and they all notice you're gone." Hermione offered a little smile, and fought back a gasp when Harry grabbed her hand. She felt his lips press into her hand, and then he spoke quietly.

"Thanks for letting me stay…I feel so awake. See you in a bit."

With that, Harry was gone.

An hour later, the couple—and Ron—strode into the Great Hall, to find the Gryffindor barking at Malfoy whenever he walked by. Ron chuckled and Hermione shot him a dark look.

"You told Seamus, then?"

"Yeah, who wouldn't tell that one? And I'm guessing it just spread." Ron paused and gave Harry a confused look, "Oi, where were you when I came back last night? I didn't see you in the common room, and you weren't in your bed."

"I fell asleep in one of the chairs by the fire, its back is to the entrance of the common room, so that's probably why you didn't see me." Harry spoke without an ounce of hesitation. Hermione was amazed.

The trio sat down at the Gryffindor table and each began their morning routines.

Ronald didn't even pause between sitting down, dumping mounds of food onto his plate, and after a few minutes of eating, he looked around and poured himself some pumpkin juice. He then dumped the pumpkin juice into his already-full mouth, which caused the juice to dribble down his chin.

Harry sat down and set a napkin across his name. Then he poured himself a glass of juice, set some eggs, some toast, some bacon, and a few peaches on his plate, and began to eat. His eating pace was nothing like Ron's, but he still managed to shovel his food in.

Hermione, however, first grabbed a book, which she set open next to her at the table. She then spread a little butter and jam over a piece of toast and began to eat it while she read the book intently. Harry dumped a few eggs on her plate, and Ron threw on a piece of sausage. She ate them without even being aware that they were put there. Harry and Ron had learned a long time ago that if they didn't put food on Hermione's plate at breakfast, she'd be sick by lunch time. She did manage to pour herself some pumpkin juice and drink it, but all of her other attention was on the book—until Harry touched her knee.

They were sitting across the table from each other, but Harry managed to slip his hand onto her knee. She jerked away from the book as if a gunshot had been fired next to her ear. Ron stopped eating and stared at her. Harry gave her an awkward little smile, as Hermione crinkled her nose a little in annoyance, and her lips curled in a smile. Hermione turned back to her book, and Harry continued brushing his fingers against her robed knee.

"She's bloody strange sometimes." Ron muttered through his food, making it come out more like "Bees buthy banch thumthims."

"Ronald, just because I'm reading doesn't mean I don't know what you're saying." Hermione slammed her book shut, "I'm not oblivious."

"It's true whether you can hear me or not, " mumbled Ron, "Harry and I practically have to feed you in the mornings, you're so oblivious."

"Well _you _and _Harry_ can just forget about trying to take care of me. I'm perfectly fine on my OWN, Ronald Weasley, I _certainly_ don't need your help."Hermione stood up and whirled around, marching toward the faculty table.

Ron yelled after her, through a mouthful of eggs, "That's what you think!! See how long you last!"

Harry fought back a chuckle, and then watched Hermione as she paraded away. She was something else. He turned his gaze toward Ron, who was mumbling furiously as he finished up his plate. Harry knew he would quickly finish his food and go after Hermione. Ron and Hermione were not morning people in the least. In fact, every Monday morning, like clockwork, Hermione would explode at something Ron said, and then Harry and Ron would get yelled at. It really didn't phase Harry anymore, because he knew she didn't mean it, but it always aggravated Ron.

Ron threw his fork down on the table, and began to stand up, with a stern look on his face. However, it was then that Ron realized Hermione was speaking to Dumbledore, who was slowly rising from his chair. Ron sank back into his seat, as Hermione and Dumbledore began walking out of the Great Hall together. Harry bent his head down a little, knowing they were speaking about him.

Hermione knew Ron would be baffled that she was now talking to Dumbledore, and she knew that Harry would be nervous. But she didn't really care either way—it had to be done, for more than one reason. The Headmaster led her toward his office, and sighed the password—a name of a delicious candy, of course—and the pair climbed the winding staircase into his office. He held the door open for her, and allowed her to enter the office.

"Alright, Ms. Granger, what is of such great importance?" He peered over his half-moon spectacles at her; a twinkle in his eyes.

"It's about Harry."

"Ahh…" Dumbledore sighed and sat down behind his desk, "please, sit. We don't have much time until your first class, so go ahead."

"Well…" Hermione sighed and then looked Dumbledore directly in the eyes, "Harry has been having nightmares almost every night about his mother dying. He sees it through the eyes of another person…as if someone else was in the room, watching her die. Harry can't sleep…the dream happens multiple times in a row. The other night, he slept for maybe 3 hours before he woke up, and then he couldn't sleep anymore."

Dumbledore sighed, and averted his eyes.

"The thing is, Professor…we've discovered that when Harry sleeps near me, he doesn't have those dreams. We were outside yesterday, talking, and he fell asleep with his head on my lap and didn't dream at all! I guess…we were wondering if…"

"Mr. Potter may sleep in your room at night…but there will have to be specific measures put in place so that nothing happens between the two of you," Hermione began to protest, but Dumbledore held up a hand, "things do happen, Ms. Granger, and we'll need to make sure Harry's roommates don't notice."

Hermione nodded quietly.

"I think a simple disillusionment charm will hide Harry from the prying eyes of your roommates, but I must require you to keep your door open. As for Harry's room, you may teach him how to cast a Spell , " Dumbledore sighed, "I was afraid something like this would happen, Ms. Granger. I understand that you and Mr. Potter are very close. But I'm going to tell you precisely what I would tell any young woman who fell in love with Harry."

"I'm not—"

"Harry Potter has a long dark road ahead of him. If you are not willing to stand beside him the entire way, do not take on a role like you have. However, if you are willing to stand beside him, then please continue. He needs more people on his side, not more heartbreak. I truly don't know how much more he can bear. Now…I'm going to tell you something that I would only tell you, Ms. Granger. I hoped that you would be the one that Harry chose to give his heart to."

"But he hasn't—"

"Ms. Granger, please. You are precisely what Harry needs beside him. But it is still your choice." Dumbledore smiled at her, and then spoke again, "You'd best go to class, or you'll be late."

Hermione stood up, looking at Dumbledore in curiosity, and then she left the office quickly.

Dumbledore sighed and whispered, "I suppose it was only a matter of time. He's only 15 years old…but many others have found their soul mate at 15. He would not be the first. I just hope that this helps things, and doesn't hinder them."

Harry caught Hermione's arm as she was about to rush past them and said, "Well?"

"Everything's great, Harry. Just great." She beamed up at him and then turned an icy glare toward Ron, " I expect that you will not speak to me in that way again, Ronald Weasley. I understand that you feel so inferior to your siblings, but we are your friends, and we will not put up with your petty insults that make you feel better."

Ron grimaced and nodded slowly. He was well aware that there was no point to arguing with her.

Hermione gave Harry a serious look and then nodded her head toward Ron. Harry closed his eyes in a big sigh and then turned toward Ron.

"Ron, we have some things we have to talk to you about…let's talk after History of Magic. We'll see if we can find an empty classroom."

"Okay, then." Ron Gave them a little smile, and the three friends walked into their classroom and sat down, together.

Harry took Hermione's hand for a moment under their desks, and let it go as their class began to pour in. Hermione lifted her hand to a piece of parchment and scribbled, _I have a lot to tell you…Dumbledore knows about us._ She folded it and handed to Harry who opened it and then gaped at her.

"What?" He whispered, "What did he say?"

"He said that I had to make sure I was…willing to stick it out."

Harry stared at her. Hermione bit her lip.

"And?" Harry's voice sunk to a low tone.

"Harry, this has been going for a few days now, how can I decide if it's long term?"

"I can."

"You…" She paused and looked up at him with sad eyes, "I know you can, Harry…but we are 15…and I just…I'm not comfortable making that call quite yet."

Harry leaned back, "Okay."

Hermione watched him carefully, "You aren't mad, are you?"

"No," Harry smiled at her.

"But…" Hermione had a confused look on her face. She felt like Harry should be yelling and throwing things.

Harry looked around to make sure no one was listening, and then he whispered in her ear, "I trust you. I care about you. You can have all the time you need to make this decision. We've known each other for a long time, and I think that's why I'm so certain. But I'm not interested in long term steps yet. Take your time." His fingertips brushed over the back of her hand lightly, and then he turned his attention to Professor Binns, who was just beginning to lecture.

Hermione, however, stared at Harry—entirely enraptured by him.

The class let out on time an hour and a half later, and the three headed up to the fifth floor. There was usually an empty classroom there, and sure enough, down one of the halls, on the right, they found one. Hermione shut the door behind them. She cast a silencing charm, and then turned to the boys.

"Harry, take it away."

Harry sighed, running a hand through his already messy black hair. He looked straight at Ron and said, "Well, there's a lot to tell you."

Ron laughed, "No, really? You guys have been avoiding me like the plague."

Harry smirked, and then continued, "I'm just going to sum everything up. Sirius is missing. I'm having nightmares about my mom dying, but it's from a different point of view than Voldemort's, my mom's or mine. It's like I'm behind Voldemort and facing them. We found out that Snape was in love with my mother, or…he was at least her good friend, or something. And…Hermione and I are dating."

Ron's jaw dropped, "You guys are dating?"

"Yes." Hermione stood next to Harry, facing Ron, "We don't want a lot of people knowing yet, but you are our best friend. You should be the first to know."

"Oh…okay then. Well, whatever floats your boat, I suppose." Ron shrugged, "So Snape was in love with your mom? That's gross, mate."

Hermione and Harry exchanged smiles—Ron was handling this better than they'd thought he would. Of course, his moods were still very temperamental, but he at least seemed to be able to control himself some of the time.

"Yeah, I wrote Remus to see what he knew about it…and eventually I'll have to talk to him. It's a pretty big deal." Harry frowned, and his forehead creased.

"Sounds like you have a game plan, though…do you think Snape was there when your mom died?" Ron quizzed.

"We don't know," Hermione stepped in, "but we're going to find out."

She was surprised when Harry took her hand; Then again, she wasn't that surprised.

"There's…one other thing you need to know, Ron." Hermione gave Harry a questioning look, and he nodded, "Harry is having these nightmares about his mom almost every night, and he can't sleep afterwards. Yesterday we were down by the lake, and Harry fell asleep, and he didn't have any dreams…so I talked to Dumbledore today and he said…well…"

"I'm going to be sleeping in Hermione's room. We aren't going to be doing anything, but you have to know because _you_ would notice."

Ron slapped his hands over his ears, "I don't want to hear about it when you two shag."

Harry and Hermione both started—

"We aren't going to—"

"There's no way that would—"

Ron held up his hand, and said, "Okay. But _if_ it does happen, I don't want to know."

The couple nodded, and the three friends exchanged grins.

It was then that Hermione launched herself at Ron, suddenly laughing and fighting back tears. She reached out and snagged Harry with a hand, pulling him into the hug as well, "I'm so glad we're friends," she mumbled into their shoulders. The boys laughed and pushed away from each other, and Hermione reluctantly let go of them.

Ron grinned at Harry and Hermione and said, "Well…I guess I knew you two would get together at some point. I'm happy for you."

Harry laughed and smiled down at Hermione.

Things were good.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: So. This is tricky stuff…my inborn creative side wants you all to find out that SNAPE IS REALLY HARRY'S FATHER! *AUDIBLE GASP* buuuut I feel like that would be really super kinda mebbe cheesy. So, we'll go with something else. That I won't reveal to you yet.

There was no word from Remus until Friday morning at breakfast. Hedwig landed on the table in front of Harry, and affectionately nipped at his hand. Harry scratched her head for a moment and then picked up the letter. He tore it open and scanned its contents quickly. A sigh escaped his lips, and Hermione took the letter from his hands. It was short and to the point.

_I will come and visit you at school. Visits are rare, but I informed Dumbledore as to why my visit is of such importance. I plan to arrive Sunday afternoon, so make sure your schedule is cleared. Also, I heard about the situation with Ms. Granger. I expect her to be at our meeting as well. We can meet in Myrtle's bathroom. 2'o'clock._

_--Remus_

Hermione looked over at Harry, who had resumed eating, "He's coming? Harry…"

"It's not good…I know. It means there's something major that I don't know about yet. But I guess I'll find out on Sunday." Harry looked over at her, with a serious expression spreading across his face, "I'm glad you'll be there."

"You don't care that he knows?"

"Not a bit." Harry squeezed her hand under the table, which caused Ron to cough loudly. The two turned their attention to him.

"I can't believe I didn't notice this before you told me…I mean, it's so obvious—" the red head paled as Luna sat down next to him.

"Of course it's obvious. The Wrackspurts have been floating around them since we got here—they float through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy—it's a sure sign of being in love." Luna stared right at Ron with her huge eyes, and then took a small, lady-like bite.

Hermione wondered if Ron's jaw was going to drop.

Harry leaned over the table, "Look, Luna, we're not exactly publicizing anything yet…so if you could keep things quiet…"

Luna leaned towards Harry and whispered, "Okay, but everyone knows anyway."

Harry chuckled and shook his head. Luna Lovegood was one unique individual.

"I don't know why they're hiding it from everyone; we all expected it."

"That's not true." Luna sighed, in her dreamy voice, "We all thought that it would be you and Hermione."

"Wha—" Ron stuttered nervously, "I don't—we're not—she's not—I mean I—"

"Well of course you don't like her now." Luna continued to eat, as Ron turned bright red and stared at Hermione and Harry.

Hermione chuckled and gave Ron a pitying glance, then spoke, "well, I think that's our cue. We're going to head to History of Magic…we'll see you in class, Ron."

Ron began to stutter that they shouldn't leave, but Harry and Hermione had already left the table and were chuckling as they left.

"It's too early to head to class, Mione."

"I know." She gave him a mysterious smile and strode out of the castle toward the lake. He followed her, cautiously, and stopped next to her, at the edge of the lake. She snuck her hand into his, and smiled up at him.

"We've been busy this week, Harry."

"I know."

"You've had Quidditch practice every night, and then we do homework, and then I have rounds, and then we start all over again."

Harry turned and put a hand on either of her shoulders, "I've missed you too."

With that, she was in his arms, hugging him tightly. He smiled a little, as her hair tickled his face. She released him, and he kissed the top of her forehead.

"How about this," he offered, as the pair sat down on the shore, "tonight we get our homework done, so that tomorrow we can spend together, and we can spend Sunday together too."

"Okay. That sounds great, Harry."

His arm snaked around her waist, and his hand ran up and down her side, "It's funny," Harry joked, "we're sleeping together now, and we see even less of each other than before!"

"We _are not_ sleeping together, Harry!"

"Then what would you call it?"

Hermione paused, and then breathily said, "Napping."

Harry laughed loudly, and Hermione pushed him with one hand. He fell onto his side—but not before he caught Hermione's hand. She went tumbling over him, and in a second she was pinned between him and the earth. She thanked Merlin there were bushes between them and the castle—it wouldn't do for people to see this behavior.

Harry greedily took her lips in his, not giving her another moment of thought. She took in the feeling of his lips—so soft, so gentle, and yet so hungry. The way she was beneath him was so comforting; she felt warm, safe, and…desired. Harry felt her beneath him—she was soft and perfect. His left hand was wound in the hair behind her head, and his right hand gently touched her cheek. They both shivered in the emotion of the moment—they hadn't had time together like this since the previous Sunday morning. Too long.

Suddenly Hermione was pushing away, standing up, straightening her robe, and fixing her hair, leaving Harry sitting baffled on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Harry, really I am…but we have to go to class."

Harry frowned, wondering if he'd done something wrong.

"Let's pick up where we left off tonight, okay? You can make me stay awake this time."

This was the third or fourth time in the last week Harry had tried to start something with Hermione—just kissing, nothing else—but she didn't seem to be interested. Perhaps he would just let it go. It wasn't a big deal. Besides, she had a lot on her mind other than their relationship. Harry rose and took her hand, kissing the back of it gently.

"I would never _make_ you do anything unless you wanted to." Harry gave her a smile, and his green eyes twinkled a little.

Hermione felt her heart melt.

They walked hand-in-hand for a little ways toward the castle, and then let go when they began to fear people could see. They walked in silence. They reached the castle doors, and Hermione abruptly turned to Harry.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I just…" she paused, "I guess I haven't really been in the mood, lately. I love being with you like that, but I just have a lot on my mind. Tonight, for sure, though."

Harry smiled down at her and brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Alright."

They continued on inside, and Hermione changed the topic to the DA; asking Harry when he thought the next meeting should be.

"Tomorrow night would be good, or maybe Monday night. Maybe we could meet twice every other weekend so that there were options for people to attend?"

"No, I think it needs to be fairly consistent, with everyone there. I have lists of all the Quidditch practices and team meetings. We can make a schedule tonight, after we've done a little bit of work. We actually shouldn't have that much work to do…I bet we can finish off our homework before nine tonight…then we can get our schedule finished, and maybe even work some on the O.W.L. study guide." Hermione began to smile as they entered the classroom.

"Or…" Harry trailed off and looked at her in excitement, and leaned to whisper, "or we could finish off our homework, do the schedule, and then go to bed early."

Hermione laughed and turned to face Harry squarely. She looked him in the eye and said as seriously as she could, "We'll see". Then she winked, spun on her heel, and took her usual seat.

Harry quickly followed after her.

After Double Potions, lunch, Divination, and Double Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry and Ron were completely exhausted. The three friends trudged to dinner, and then stumbled into Gryffindor Tower. Harry and Ron made straight for Ron's Wizard Chess set, which was up in their dormitory, but Hermione stopped them in their tracks.

"Ohh, no you don't. If we finish our homework now, we'll have all weekend to have fun, and get other things done. Come on." Hermione turned toward the tables, and began to pull books out of her bag.

Harry and Ron exchanged looks and then followed her glumly to the table, where they also began to pull books out and lay them out. Ron mumbled something about "not having _that_ much to do" and how he "didn't understand why they couldn't wait until _Sunday_ night". Harry sagged in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. Hermione gave him somewhat apologetic smile, knowing he was tired, and then she pulled open her Potions textbook.

"We have to write 12 inches on the potion we made in class today—just describing the steps we're supposed to take and our results. It shouldn't take too long. Then we are supposed to answer the questions for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and we're supposed to start our prep for our History of Magic papers that will be due next Friday." Hermione flinched a little at their glares, "But Professor Binns won't check our work on Monday, so we don't _have_ to do that tonight. Let's start on potions and then we'll get through Defense quickly."

The three friends began to pour over their instructions on how to make the Draught of Peace—it was the first major O.W.L. potion Snape had thrown at them, and now he wanted them to prove their understanding of how to create the potion. Ron was forced to write about how he'd dismally failed at attempting to create the potion—and that the reason for this failure was that he did not follow the directions precisely. Hermione was, again, writing about the reason for her potion turning out to be the perfect color and the light silver vapor developed. Harry's potion would've turned out all right—if he hadn't forgotten to add the essence of hellebore.

Why had he forgotten?

He had been watching Hermione work—she got an intense gaze on her face as she worked—he thought of it as "focus face". So while she perfected her potion, and got top marks—yet again—he was ridiculed by Snape—yet again.

And, once again, Harry sat watching Hermione perfect her essay instead of working on his own. He shook his head and bent toward his parchment, deciding that it was time to get to work.

Before the trio knew it, it was nearing 11 pm, and they'd barely finished their Defense homework. Ron had actually fallen asleep on top of his book, and Harry was staring into space as he propped his head up on his hand. Hermione glanced at the pair and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, to bed with you." She slammed her book shut and began packing up.

"Huh? Whaddya say?" Ron jerked away from the table and rubbed at his eyes.

"Go. To. Bed. Ronald." Hermione glared at him and swung her bag over her shoulder, "I'll see you both tomorrow."

With that, she took off toward her dormitory.

Harry groaned and punched Ron in the shoulder, "Way to go. You made her mad."

"Least I don't have to go up there…" Ron mumbled sleepily as he pointed toward the girl's dormitories. Harry punched him in the shoulder again, and then the two carried their books and bags up the stairs to their own dormitories. Harry changed and crawled into bed, pulling the curtain closed tightly. He cast a Disillusionment Charm over himself, and then climbed out of his bed, casting a protective charm on it. Then he snuck down the stairs, across the common room, and up the stairs to the girl's dormitories.

Generally, when boys snuck up the stairs, they turned into a slide of sorts so that the boys could not get to the girsl's rooms. But since Harry had been up _with _Hermione once before, he was allowed to go up as he wished. Harry slowly eased into Hermione's common room, and then slipped into her room, gently closing the door part way behind him.

"Hey," he mumbled, to the girl who was lying in her bed, with a book propped on her lap. She reached for her wand and cast a Silencing charm.

"Am I too forceful with you and Ron?"

"No."

She gave him a doubtful look, and he shrugged his shoulders as he crawled into bed next to her.

"Sometimes you are, yeah. But I know that I need it…and Ron…well…he's Ron. He's used to having people tell him what to do, and he's used to ignoring them. Don't take his attitude personally." Harry brushed a piece of hair away from her face, and noted that her eyes looked a little red. She must've been crying. He put a hand on the book, and she let go of it reluctantly. He laid it on the nightstand, and pulled her to his chest.

"I'm sorry, Harry."

"For what?"

"For being too pushy…for—"

"Oi. None of that nonsense." Harry slid a hand over her hair as they snuggled in the bed, "I like you just the way you are, Hermione Granger."

Hermione looked up at him, and smiled. Harry bent his head down toward hers and captured her lips in a kiss.

She pulled away suddenly, "Oh Harry! I promised you that we'd finish up early so that you and I could—" Hermione turned bright pink.

"So we could snog?"

She nodded.

"Don't worry about it…you're tired. We have all the time in the world."

Before Harry could even finish his sentence, Hermione had pushed her lips into his—which was quite a miracle, considering she couldn't see them—and pinned herself on top of him.

Harry's eyes bulged in the darkness, and Hermione let out a soft giggle against his lips. He grinned back, and then slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. Her shirt had risen a bit, and he could feel bare skin against his arms. They continued to fight in the darkness—tongues battling for control, arms squeezing tighter—Harry rolled them over after a while, and peered down at her in the darkness.

She was beautiful. She always had been, to him.

As they drifted off to sleep a few hours later, with messy hair and swollen lips, Harry pulled her close and whispered into her hair, "I think I love you."

She smiled contentedly as she snuggled deeper into her arms; Hermione thought she had dreamed the words, and didn't respond.

Harry Potter was left hoping that she was already asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: A couple of things. I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be in debt from paying for college. Secondly, this chapter is short. I know. Please don't complain? I wanted to write another sweet filler, kind of bringing Harry and Hermione back to happy land. Soon you'll find out the big secret Remus has [feel free to REVIEW with your speculations]! Also, I'm changing their age to 16, because I just realized---DUH, 11 years old plus 5=16. Wow, way to go. Aaaaaaaaaaaand finally, Please review! I'd love some opinions, some critiques, and some advice! I love all of my faithful readers so much! You guys are faaaaaaan (ha, get it, fan) tastic!. Ok, enough cheesy….R&R!

Hermione slowly peeked her eyes open to see that her bedroom was flooded with light. Not only that, but she was snuggled tightly against a bare chest. A bare chest which she could _see_.

She jolted upright in bed and saw that the door had been closed.

"It's okay, I locked it with a spell…no one will come in before I can disillusion myself." Harry shrugged, "Or at the very least, I can hide."

"But the door isn't allowed to be closed—"

"At night."

"Because Dumbledore didn't want…things…happening—"

"At night."

"And you have to stay disillusioned—"

"_At night_."

"So that no one can see you."

"Hermione. He said that we had to do those things at night. Not when I'm in your bed until noon."

Her jaw dropped.

"You did say that we could spend today together…and I know how tired you've been…everyone else was headed to Hogsmeade for the weekend, so…I decided we should just relax. Here. You need it." Harry ran a hand through his hair, suddenly looking uncertain.

"Why didn't I know about the Hogsmeade trip?"

"I…I didn't tell you it was posted?"

"Harry, honestly, I'm a prefect. I should have known before you!"

"Oh."

Hermione paused and then slowly shrugged her shoulders, "Oh well…"

She tugged at her t-shirt—it was actually Harry's Quidditch jersey she had stolen—and then snuggled back up against him. He was propped up against some of her pillows, and the moment she laid back down he began to run his fingers through her hair.

"Is it really past noon?"

"Yeah, it is, love."

"Oh."

"I had Dobby bring us some food."

Hermione grinned and squeezed her eyes shut, "Thanks, Harry."

"Anything for you." Harry smiled and leaned his head back so that it was resting against the headboard of the bed.

"Harry…"

"Yeah?"

"Dumbledore…" Hermione paused and bit her lip, "he said a lot of things to me."

Harry was silent, and waited for her to continue.

"He said…he said that you have a long road ahead of you. And that I have to decide if I'm in this for the entire time or not."

"You told me that already, Mione."

"But I—" She took a deep breath and then spoke quickly, "I don't know, Harry, if I'm going to marry you, or if I'm going to have a family with you—I honestly can't promise you any of that. But I swear I'll stand by you while you fight V-V-Voldemort."

She was suddenly sitting up in bed, looking him in the eye.

"I'm not just going to bail, and even if things don't work out between us," she motioned back and forth with her hand, "romantically, I mean, I'm always going to be here for you." She took his hand in hers, "I will always be your best friend, Harry. Well, until you find your future wife, I suppose. Then I'll share you. If I have to."

Her last words made Harry laugh, but his eyes were full of concern.

"Is this what's been bothering you lately?"

"Nothing has been bothering me." She straightened her posture.

"Hermione, I've practically lived with you for the past four years straight. Don't think that I don't know when something is bothering you."

"Oh."

"So is this what has been bothering you?"

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, "Yes?"

Harry laughed, a low soothing chuckle. Hermione peeked one eye open, just as Harry pulled her into his arms.

"Hermione Granger, I never doubted that you wouldn't stand by my side." Hermione started to say something, but Harry put a hand over her mouth, "Look, the last four years would have been hell for me if it hadn't been for you and Ron. Do you really think that I doubted your friendship? Even for one moment? Not a chance in the world," He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and continued, "I know you'll be there right next to me. But it's time for me to make a promise to you. I'll always be there for you, too. Even when things start getting really hard for me—which we both know they will—I'll be here for you. Friendship can't just be one-sided."

Hermione's eyes were beginning to water. "Oh, Harry," she whispered.

"I'm not done!" Harry laughed as her eyes widened a bit, and then continued, "and…and I'll always love you, Mione. You know that? If you need the love you'd find in a friend, I'll have that for you. If you need the love you'd find in a brother, I'll have that for you. And…" Harry paused, watching her face carefully, "if you…if you need the love you'd find from a boyfriend…or a husband…well, believe me, it will be waiting for you to ask."

"Really, Harry?"

"Of course. But I'll never force how I feel on you…I'm going to wait for you to let me know when you're ready. Cuz, I know we're only 16, but I think I've always been ready for you, Hermione."

Hermione's face paled and her eyes widened. They'd been together for, what, a week? And here he was, saying that he loved her? That he wanted to be with her always?

"Harry, if you love me, just fucking say it."

Harry's jaw dropped as hers clenched. His eyes grew large as her eyes grew tight. He was almost shaking, but, he found the Gryffindor courage to speak.

"I love you, Hermione Jean Granger."

Suddenly she was in his arms, her hair enveloping his face, and she sounded like she was crying. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist, and began to stroke her hair.

"I—" Harry began to speak, and then stopped, knowing that whatever he would say would just sound stupid. Instead, he waited.

Hermione cried for a long time. When she finally pulled away, she was sniffling, and her eyes were puffy and red.

"Harry…oh Harry…" she smiled at him, "I don't know if I'm ready to say that back yet, but…but…please don't ever go a day without saying it to me."

Harry's jaw dropped—again. It hadn't been the response he'd expected. He'd been waiting for the slap in the face. The screams to get out. The argument of how they were too young to understand what love meant.

"Harry, you of all people know how special love is. You haven't had nearly enough love that someone our age should have had in his or her life. So I _completely_ trust you when you say you love me. But me…I've had too much love. I'm scared I'll just throw the word around, and I don't want to do that. But some day…some day I will say it back, I promise."

Harry knew there were no words to be said, so instead, he pulled her into his arms, and they nestled into the bed together. He reached toward the nightstand and picked up the book she'd been reading the night before. The cover said, _Jane Eyre_. He noticed that it was worn, and it looked old. He cracked the book open to the first page.

"Is it your favorite?"

She nodded against his chest.

"How far into it were you last night?"

"I'd just started when you walked in."

Harry smiled, and began to read, quietly, "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so somber, and a rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was now out of the question."

Hermione put a hand over the page and stared up at him accusingly, "You've read this before!"

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, I have. It's a good read, no doubt…but Anna Karenina is much better."

"You like _Russian_ _Literature_?" Harry nodded in response, and she gaped, "Harry Potter, you are full of surprises! When did you read Jane Eyre the first time?"

"The first time Dudley chased me into the Public Library. The librarian said he was too noisy and made him leave, and then she settled me down at a table. I must have been nine or so…she gave me a book, and I read and read…read straight through until the library closed. I was in a heap of trouble when I got back to the Dursley's, but I didn't really care. I read a lot those summers, when I could sneak away."

Hermione smiled up at him.

He kissed the top of her forehead.

She reached up and pulled his chin down toward her own, so she could catch his lips in a passionate kiss.

Soon _Jane Eyre_ slid to the floor.


End file.
